Fearless
by Jacob D. Mercer
Summary: Clark Kent is certainly no boy scout. Only a few years out of high school and a daughter who's already in kindergarten, his life gets all the more weirder when he's run off the road by a transforming car. It doesn't help that he's always worried about his daughter inheriting his alien superpowers. Talida Prime and all related characters belong to IceGirl2772.
1. Chapter 1: Darkness Rising Part 1

** A/N: Alright, this story is basically a fanfic of a fanfic. I loved the Talida Prime stories by IceGirl2772, and it sucked that she had canceled the last story, and I liked the crossover Another Type of Alien by Rapidfyrez, so credit to those two for some inspiration. And recently, I read the Earth 1 Superman comic. And I always wondered what it would be like if we had a Superman who did his best to do the right thing, but never was, nor would he ever be a perfect boy scout. Thus, this story was born. Now, first things right off the bat, this story will follow the events of the Transformers Prime series, or the Talida Prime series, or whatever you prefer. But I added in a Clark Kent that I think would be more realistic. Also, no Lois Lane. I know some of you will have a problem with that. But personally, I don't care. There's not enough variety of pairings in my opinion, for Superman. I know some may not like the OC's, or my version of Clark, but I added in the characters, because I wanted to show that even though he not a perfect boy scout in this story, meaning he has more dickish moments and is more foul-mouthed, he is always willing to try and do the right thing, and make up for his mistakes. Now, while I do hope you enjoy the story, I'm not expecting much. The story is named after the song by Chris Stapleton.**

* * *

Jasper, Nevada. I've been in this town for years. And I've heard people talk. You know, a common phrase, or philosophy, or whatever the hell it is, that some people tend to say or live by is that all it takes is one small mistake, and your life is fucked. But what happens when that one mistake leads to the best moments of your life, rather than it's downfall? I grew up in this town. Me and my Ma lived on a small farm a couple miles out from the place. And it was better that way. See, I'm not like normal kids. I'm closer to something out of a comic book, like Spider-Man or Iron Man. I grew up with abilities. But this is the real world. People aren't gonna just accept me like a superhero. The government would probably wanna imprison me. They wouldn't be able to, of course, but it would lead to trouble for my family. Like, aiding and abetting a fugitive. I don't need to be putting that on them. Especially not my daughter.

Oh, right, I haven't told you guys about that, yet. Well, it goes like this: my one mistake, led to my daughter. Me and my girlfriend, Amy, were simple high school students. Although, we weren't your typical couple. Despite my abilities, I was still a troublemaker, although, it was more for distraction, though I was still able to control myself. Amy, on the other hand, well, I was lucky as hell to get her. She was beautiful, still is to this day. And she was smart. She was an ace student, and she was somehow able to get everything done, and have plenty of free time. No matter what she was given, she got it done, no problem. Because of that, me and her always had time to see each other. Heh, I still can't believe we got together, and every time we talk about it, we can never figure out how, either. Anyway, on her birthday, one night, me and her got down and dirty, if you know what I mean. A simple little gift that she had asked for.

But we both fucked up. Neither one of us had thought about precaution or protection. So imagine my surprise when she shows up a month later, crying her eyes out, her cheeks a raw red from the tears, talking nothing but gibberish and babble. It took half an hour for me to calm her down before she finally told me that was pregnant. That was one of the worst moments of my life, hearing from my girlfriend, while staring at her tear-stained face, that she was pregnant. I still feel guilty to this day. I'll tell you what, I'm glad my mom was gone for the weekend, because she never left that night. I had found out that she felt guilty. Apparently, she thought she had forced me into it or something. It took a three hour argument to convince her otherwise. She spent the night with me, and me and her had decided to come up with a plan.

She had already told her parents, who were disappointed, but shockingly, didn't hate me. My mom was a pain in the ass, but she eventually said she was happy, and that she would help us when she needed. I ended up dropping out of school once our little girl was born. We eventually settled on naming her Krystal Martha Kent. She took on my last name. I wanted to give her Amy's last name, Jane, but she was surprisingly adamant about my last name. I gave up once she brought up the topic of marriage. A bit early, but it shut me up anyway. Anyway, I dropped out, and took care of Krystal while Amy finished school. She wanted to quit with me, but unlike Krystal's name, she couldn't shut me up on this. Long story short, I won that particular argument. She finished school, and went through college. She eventually ended up becoming a local nurse, alongside family friend June Darby. Robbie, you were lucky, you were.

Me? Well, I just became a multi-purpose construction man for hire, at least, that's the best term I can think of for it. Me and my buddy Pete build houses, barns, mansions, and we remodel, though, we don't get much of that last one. Amy makes most of the money though, if we're being honest. I try to help, but she'll just tell me, "Save up and get something for you or Krystal." I usually get something for Krystal as a reward. She had just started kindergarten, at six years old. Amy finished school when Krystal was two, and got her job not long after following a recommendation from Mrs. Darby. Amy bought the materials, and I built us a nice little two story home in the same neighborhood as June. I was about twenty-four, and Amy was twenty-two. And that summer, I'll tell you, really was odd.

Now, an alien living his entire life on another planet with superpowers is hard enough to believe, but how about discovering five huge alien robots, and getting caught up in a huge civil war with your family, and a few kids? Not to mention the leader of said team is one kid's daddy?

Now that, is un-fucking-believable!

* * *

"Oh, Jesus." Clark grumbled, walking out of the restaurant and stretching his arms as he did so. It was K.O. Burger. Wasn't the best, but it helped them get food in their system. He felt bad for the employees though, Jack especially.

"Don't snap your back in half, Clark." He heard his girlfriend joke as she walked up behind him, their daughter's hand in her's. He turned around looked at her smiling face. "Wouldn't want you to lose your backbone."

He smirked, and walked up to her, giving her a quick kiss, before responding. "Right. I wouldn't want to disappoint the lady, after all." He said with a suggestive eyebrow. Amy laughed at his response.

"You can show your skills later. Right now, we gotta get home." Her gaze turned to Krystal. "This one has school tomorrow." She said, smiling at the girl. Krystal was quick to make her objection known.

"Aww. I don't wanna go to school tomorrow!" She objected, to her parents amusement.

"Sorry, Munchkin, but you gotta go." Clark said, ruffling his daughter's hair. "What happens if mommy goes dumb? Then we'll need another smart girl to even out my stupidity." He said with a grin.

"Hey!" Amy said, slapping his arm slightly, although the smile on her face held no anger. "That was mean. And your not stupid."

Clark laughed. "You're talking to the guy who imitated MTV's Jackass as a kid." He remarked as they walked to their car, a four-door Chevy HHR, with him approaching the driver seat.

"I'm also talking to the guy who could fall into the Grand Canyon and crush the stone below on impact, without a scratch. Trust me, your smarter than you give yourself credit for." Amy shot back with a frown as she buckled Krystal into her booster seat.

Clark chuckled as he slid into the driver seat. "Touche." He muttered as he reached into his pocket for the car keys, before his face fell into a frown when he found nothing but empty space. "Did I give you the keys, Amy?" He asked as she slid into the passenger seat. To his dismay, she shook her head.

"Nope. Why?" She turned to her boyfriend, who unexpectedly sighed.

"God dammit! I left the fucking keys at our table. Give me just a second." However, just as his hand landed on the door handle, someone cleared their throat, and it was then that Clark realized his second mistake: he had left his window down. "Smarter my ass." He muttered with a sigh, before turning to look at the person who cleared their throat, and felt his anger go down a little when he saw Jack Darby, June Darby's son, holding his keys with a smile on his face.

"Order up: some lost keys." He joked, handing the keys over to a grateful Clark.

"Thanks, Jack." Clark said with a wide smile as he took the keys from the teen and proceeding to start up his car. "You're a lifesaver."

"Ha! Right." Jack's mood immediately dropped, and Amy noticed.

"Something wrong, Jack?" She asked, catching the boy's attention. Jack looked shocked for a moment, before quickly shaking his head.

"No, Miss Jane. Just tired." He responded. Amy felt suspicion rise up, but she didn't think much of it. Could just be something personal. "Anyway, your welcome for the keys. I better get home, or my mom will chew me out."

Clark chuckled. "Well, good luck Jack." He rolled up his window as Jack walked off, before turning to his girlfriend, who was giving him a look of disbelief. "What?"

"You forgot the keys, and left the window down?" She asked in disbelief. Clark sighed. "This, from a guy who jump across town in a single leap!"

"Well, I'm sorry, I may not be human, but I don't have a perfect memory!" He shot back as he put the car in gear and backed out of the parking space.

"Daddy's not human?" Krystal's voice spoke up in the backseat, causing the two to stare at each other at Clark's mistake. "Does that mean I'm not human either?"

"Of course Daddy's human." Amy responded. "He's only joking."

"So he does have a perfect memory?" She asked as the car pulled on to the freeway.

"Well, no, but that doesn't mean he's not human. No one has a perfect memory, sweetheart." Amy explained. Clark silently thanked her, glad that she was able to play it off as a joke.

"So, how's everything going at the hospital?" Clark asked Amy as they drove down the freeway.

"As best as can be. We were able to get Jamie's rash under control, and we're set to remove that bullet from Henry's leg this Thursday." She responded. Clark let out a small chuckle.

"I will never understand how he got a bullet stuck six inches in that fat leg of his by falling on it." Clark said in disbelief, causing Amy to chuckle herself.

"I'm more shocked to why he left it in the floor. Doesn't he have grand kids?" She asked him, a question to which he simply shrugged.

"Yeah, but the military didn't make him any less of an idiot. He believes the best way to prepare for anything, is to have every weapon under the sun." Clark said. "With him it's gun, gun, and more gun."

The way he added a deep texan accent caused her to let out a loud laugh. She was able to respond when she got over her amusement. "Well, you'd teach him otherwise."

"Ha! He wouldn't stop until he somehow managed to kill me, or I kill him." Clark joked. "He's a stubborn old mule."

"Reminds me of someone." Amy said with a smirk. Clark responded in kind.

"Yeah. You."

"Yeah, right!" Amy snorted. "This coming from the man who won't stop until he gets his way?" She looked at him with a raised eyebrow. Clark laughed.

"I wasn't the one who needed to be dragged from a fight at the supermarket!" He shot back. His mood dropped at his own words, however. "Coming from someone like me, that's saying something." He focused his view back on the freeway road. It was surprisingly desolate compared to what it normally was. A few cars here and there, but not much else.

Amy sighed at her boyfriend's words. "Look, just because you were a troublemaker in high school doesn't mean you were a bad person. Hell, you never killed anybody in any of the thousand fights you had." She defended. She hated it when Clark did this. He always felt so guilty about his past. "With you, that's saying something."

"Yeah. I wanted to fight." Clark muttered as he pulled to a stop at a red light.

Amy smiled. Catching Clark's chin in her hand, she turned his gaze from the road to her, staring into his eyes. "And I wouldn't have it any other way." She leaned over the car's console and met his lips. When she pulled away, she looked at him. "You wanted me for who I am. Not my looks, or my smarts, or any other stupid reason. And you stayed by my side when I had Krystal." She gave a small smile. "We were still in high school. That speaks volumes."

Clark scoffed, but he smiled. "Whatever you say."

"Hey!" Krystal's voice in the backseat caught their attention. "It's Jack!"

Right as the words left her mouth, they turned to look out the driver side window at the sound of a roaring motorcycle engine, where Jack was speeding by on a blue motorcycle with pink highlights.

"Huh." Clark muttered. "Didn't take him for a speed demon."

"Neither did I." Amy agreed, before turning her gaze to Clark. "Wait, wasn't that the motorcycle parked next to us?"

At her words, Clark focused on the bike, to find that it was indeed the bike that was parked next to them at K.O. Burger. He also noticed that Jack didn't seem to be in control. "Yeah, it is. You think Jack might've-"

Whatever he was gonna say was interrupted as something hit the car. Hard.

* * *

Rafael Esquivel was a pretty bright boy. At twelve years old, he had already skipped ahead a couple grades. He was already in high school! He could hack government facilities for crying out loud!

As such, he knew plenty of things kids his age normally wouldn't. He expected things that no one else did. He was the smartest kid in school. But, that didn't mean he expect the next couple of moments that would change his life.

He was sitting in an unused river canal, next to a nearby bridge. He was playing with his little RC car. He had expected to be home before nightfall, so he still had time to kill, after the call he had just had with his mom. But he definitely did not expect Jack Darby to come flying into the canal on a blue and pink motorcycle, screaming his head off. Nor did he expect the vehicle of local construction man Clark Kent to come flying into the canal, flipping in midair, before colliding with the far pillar at an angle.

Jack spun to a stop, facing the opposite direction as two black muscle cars ramped into the bay, coming to a perfect, synced stop side-by-side, facing Jack. Raf watched as Jack quickly got off his bike, running in Raf's direction.

"What happened to Clark?!" Raf asked Jack as he slid to a stop.

"Clark?" Jack was confused. Apparently, he didn't know Clark was behind him. Before Raf could point out the wrecked car against the pillar, their attention was drawn to the sounds of scrapes and metal hitting metal. They turned in the direction of the black cars, to a sight to behold. The cars were now a mesh of metal. Metal plates shifted and moved, scraping against each other during the process. They slowly grew bigger, until eventually, standing in their sight were two large robots. They looked menacing, red visors and no mouth on their faceplate. They had claws instead of fingers on their hands, and they stood at about 13 meters.

The same sounds of shifting metal drew their attention to the motorcycle. It had similarly shifted into a giant robot, but this one was a head smaller than the other two, and was very obviously female, if the hips and large metal breasts weren't the first hint. Unlike the other two, she had two bright blue eyes instead of one red visor, and had actual fingers instead of claws.

She had taken up a combat stance, similar to martial arts, and was glaring at the other two bots. It was very obvious that they were enemies. And so Jack and Raf stood, watching as each side contemplated their first move.

* * *

Clark groaned as the car finally crashed. He blinked, trying to regain his bearings as he realized what had just happened: Jack went speeding by, and then something collided with the car and sent in into the Jasper river canal. He remembered the feeling of weightlessness, accompanied by... Amy and Krystal's screaming!

Shaking his sense back into his head, he turned his gaze first to the passenger side seat, where Amy sat, unconscious, bleeding from a wound on the side of her head. Quickly concluding that the wound wasn't fatal, and with no other injuries, he turned to look in the back seat. Krystal sat wide-eyed, her hands having a death grip on her booster seat and the car door. When her eyes met his gaze, they told him how she felt before she even said it.

"I'm scared, Daddy." She told him, eyes tearing up in terror. Clark reached his hand back for hers, to reassure her. Slowly, she took it as he spoke.

"It's alright Krys. Daddy won't let nothing happen to you." He reassured her. "Have I ever lied to you?" Krystal was silent, staring as the tears rolled down her terror stricken face, before she slowly shook her head. Clark gave a soft smile as he let go of her hand. "That's right." His gaze moved to Amy's unconscious form for a moment, before moving back to Krystal. "Now, I need you to be a brave girl. Daddy's gonna get out and get you and Mommy out of here, okay?" He waited for her to nod before doing anything, and only after her head had slowly moved up and down, did he get to work. He turned his attention to his seat belt, and quickly ripped it off. He readjusted himself to an angle, before violently kicking the door, sending it flying. He was not expecting site outside.

As he exited the car, he spotted what was probably responsible for it's condition. Two large purple tinted robots were facing a shorter, female robot, which had the same color scheme as the bike Jack had been riding down the free way. He spotted said boy, along with young Raf, staring at the spectacle. Bringing his finger and thumb to his mouth, he whistled as the robots charged each other, grabbing the boys attention. He pointed to a nearby pipe, before yelling.

"In the pipe, NOW!" Once they retreated into the pipe, he turned his attention back to the broken vehicle. He ran to the passenger side back seat door, slipping one hand under it and gripping, before yanking, tearing the door off and ripping the front door open. The car had landed against a pillar at an angle where the back seat was elevated off the ground. Krystal stared down at him in fear, and he lifted up his hands. "It's okay, Krys, I'll catch you. Just undo your seat belt and jump down."

"I can't!" She yelled, violently tugging on her seat belt in an effort to undo it. "The latch is stuck!" Krystal turned her fearful gaze back to Clark, who cursed, before ripping the bottom of the seat belt out and flinging it off of her.

"Put the top bit behind you and jump down!" He instructed, lifting his hands up once more. She slowly stood up, but she quickly stilled as the car tilted slightly. She cried out in fear as the car finally stopped tipping.

"I'm scared!" Krystal yelled, staring down at Clark. Thinking quickly, Clark gripped onto the car, and stiffened his arm, keeping the car in place, while he held up his other arm.

"It's alright. The car won't move anymore. Just jump down onto me, alright? I'll catch you." He assured with a soft smile. Krystal hesitated for a moment, before leaping out onto her father, wrapping her arms around his neck as he caught her easily in one arm. He let her down, before moving to the front seat and quickly ripping the door the rest of the way off. He made quick work of Amy's seat belt, before directing Krystal to the pipe that Jack and Raf stood in, following close behind her.

"How'd you do that?! You destroyed those doors!" Jack exclaimed as he approached. Clark gave him a look.

"Not the time, not the place, now pick up the fucking pace!" He yelled, directing them all toward the direction the pipe led. Listening to his directions, they all sprinted away from the entrance with out stopping. Good thing too, because Clark could hear one of those robots attempting to reach for them. But it was cut short by something. By what, he didn't know, and he didn't care. His goal was to get every one to safety, and tend to Amy's wound.

"What happened to her?" Raf asked, turning his gaze to the unconscious woman in Clark's arms as they ran.

"I have no idea. It happened during the crash." He explained. "It's just a small cut. As soon as we get to safety, I can wrap it. I can actually bandage it later."

"Will Mommy be okay?" Krystal asked, casting a worried glance at her mother's limp form. Clark smiled.

"She'll be fine. We just need to get home, okay?" He reassured. It seemed to work, as Krystal dropped the subject, although the look on her face made it obvious that she was still worried.

* * *

Clark sighed as he leaned back in his desk chair, staring at Amy's unconscious form. He had parted ways with Jack and Raf once they had exited the pipe, and he wrapped her head in a piece of torn cloth from his shirt, so that he could carry both her and Krystal home. After they had finally arrived home, he properly bandaged her head wound, before making dinner for Krystal and sending her to bed. He had laid Amy down on the bed and covered her up comfortably, and had simply been sitting there, staring at her, and monitoring her since.

It wasn't anything serious, and as long as she didn't aggravate it, it would heal in a couple days. But that still didn't make him feel better. It was a shocker that the crash hadn't ended much worse. In most cases, the car would've crumpled, or the passengers would've wound up with broken necks or other fatal injuries, and Clark found himself thanking some entity because that wasn't the case. Something else plagued his mind though. Those robots. He didn't even see how the fight had played out, and quite frankly, he was glad. He didn't want to see another one for as long as he lived, not if they were that dangerous.

He had a pretty good feeling that the blue female was that bike that Jack had been riding, and one of the other two were probably responsible for his car's condition. What on earth could've lead to such creations? As for his car, well, he would probably grab it in the morning, if he could. Hopefully though, someone doesn't find it before then.

Jack sighed as he approached Raf, who was simply standing on the sidewalk, as school let out. Walking close behind him was his close friend, Talida Prime. Him and Talida had grown up together, Jack being two years older than her. They had met in kindergarten, and had remained best friends ever since. But since what happened on the highway with him and Raf, they had gotten into an argument after Jack had found out Talida had known all along about the robots. Granted, they were still friends, but it hurt Jack to know she had kept it from him.

"Raf!" He said, gaining the twelve-year-old's attention. "Hey, look, let's just keep this between us and forget it ever happened, okay?" He asked.

"Besides, you guys weren't meant to see anything that happened yesterday." Talida informed. "My dad went ballistic when he found out." Jack rolled his eyes at her words, muttering under his breath. He was still a little sour.

"Jack! Talida!" Raf's voice caught their attention, and following their gaze, they spotted a familiar black striped yellow custom muscle car. It transformed into a robot they had seen yesterday, unlike Clark and his family.

"Not again." Jack moaned as the car pulled up next the three, it's door opening as it let out a series of beeps and whirs. "It wants us to get in."

"Actually," Talida spoke up. "Bumblebee's only taking Raf. Me and you are riding Arcee." She informed, his attention following her finger as he spotted a familiar blue bike with pink highlights.

"How do you know that?" Jack demanded.

"He said so." Raf shrugged.

Jack was hesitant. "I really don't think that-" Before he could finish, he was cut off as Raf entered Bumblebee.

"How's it going?" The young boy asked.

"What?! Hey! STOP!" Jack yelled as Bumblebee drove off with Raf in his passenger seat. Taking one last look at the bike, he shook his head, before walking off in the opposite direction. Talida followed him.

"Jack, wait!" She called out, but Jack kept going. He didn't stop until they had turned into an alleyway, where the teen let out a loud, annoyed sigh, before turning to look at the girl.

"What?" He snapped, causing Talida to flinch.

"Look, I know your mad at me." She told him, Jack nodding in confirmation. "But there's a reason I didn't tell you."

"Yeah, well, it still hurts." Jack said, turning around once more.

"Look, I just lost a close friend, I don't wanna lose my best friend only a day after." Talida admitted. Before the conversation could continue any further, another voice joined the conversation as Arcee came riding down the alleyway.

"You know, alleyways can be dangerous, right?" She asked Talida.

Talida scoffed. "They can be, but they rarely are in Jasper."

"Whoa!" Jack yelled in surprise as Arcee transformed.

"Look, Jack, is it?" Arcee asked, holding her hands out in an attempt to calm him down. "I just wanna talk."

"Don't you mean you and your new friend?" Jack corrected bitterly.

"Jack, there's a lot you don't understand." Talida told him. "Please let us explain."

"No, no. I get it. First rule of Robot Fight Club is you don't talk about Robot Fight Club." Jack still refused to look at Talida as he turned away from the two girls. "What you need to understand is I don;t want a whole bunch of crazy talking vehicles following me around everywhere trying to get me killed!" He retorted, as another thought came to mind. "The Kents probably know better than us about how dangerous it can be."

That caught Talida's attention. "What happened to the Kents?" She asked. Jack's eyes widened in surprise, before he scoffed.

"You mean you weren't told about that?" He asked her sarcastically, before turning to look at Arcee. "Or did you and your friend seriously not see?"

Arcee sighed tilted her head as well. "I know there were three other people, but that's about it. Why, what happened?"

Jack sighed. "The Kents' van got sent flying during our chase, and it landed against the bridge pillar." He explained. Arcee nodded.

"Me and Bee saw that." She acknowledged. "Why?"

Jack turned to look at Talida. "Amy got knocked unconcious during the crash, and he came out of it with a deep gash on her head." He explained. Talida's eyes and Arcee's optics widened in surprise.

"That might make things a little harder." Arcee remarked. Now it was Jack's turn to be confused.

"Why?"

"I knew the Kents saw them." Talida admitted. "But I didn't know Amy got hurt. My dad went to pick them up."

Jack's eyes widened. "Are you saying your dad is-?" He didn't finish his question, but his finger pointed at Arcee. Talida nodded, giving a small smile.

"We have a winner." She joked. Jack was stunned.

"Wow."

"Look," Arcee said, gaining his attention. "You may be in danger because you are one of the few, one of the only people, who have ever seen us." Arcee told him. Jack didn't have time to think it over, as a familiar excitable voice caught the three's attention.

"Dude, what are waiting for?!" The voice of Miko Nakedai yelled. "GO WITH!" She encouraged.

"Scrap." Both Talida and Arcee cursed.

* * *

Clark sighed as he sat back in the desk chair inside the room he and Amy shared. He had decided against sending Krystal to school today, as the poor girl was still terrified from the events that had transpired the day before. Plus, he didn't need her going to school, talking about cars that turn into robots, because that would draw way too much attention. And he wanted to comfort her, and find a way to take her mind off of the horrifying memory.

He had also taken a day of work, not only because he didn't have much of a car, which he had retrieved lat into the night since he hadn't gone to sleep, but also so that he could be at home when Amy woke up. He wanted to be able to explain to her what had happened, and he wanted Krystal to not have to worry about always watching over her mom while he was at work. Plus, Krystal was only six. She couldn't be left alone at home with her mother asleep.

His attention was taken away from his thoughts as he heard a groan come from the form sitting on the bed, as Amy slowly rose up to a sitting position. Clark quickly rushed to her side,

"You okay Amy?" He asked as he bent down so that he was eye level with her. Amy looked at him.

"What happened?" She asked, looking at him with a tilted head. Clark sighed.

"What do you remember?" He asked. Amy looked down at her lap, thinking for a moment.

"I remember talking on the free way. Jack sped by on that blue bike." She told him. "Something hit our car, then nothing." Her hand found its way to her bandaged head, moving a few strands of her red hair to the side. Suddenly, a thought occurred to her. She frantically turned to Clark. "Is Krystal okay?!" She asked, concerned for her daughter's well-being. Clark nodded.

"Krys is fine. You were the only hurt in the crash." He informed her, causing her to sigh in relief.

"Okay. So, what hit our car?" She asked. Clark sighed.

"I think I'd rather explain it to you after you talk to Krystal." He told her, causing her to nod.

"You didn't send her to school today, did you?" It was more of a statement than a question, but Clark shook his head either way.

"No. She's terrified." He said. Amy nodded as she turned to get out of bed. She laughed lightly as Clark helped her to her feet. "I'm okay, Clark!"

Clark slightly chuckled. "Sorry if I want to be sure." He remarked. Amy smiled, giving him a quick kiss.

"Your concern is appreciated." She said, causing Clark to grin. "Now if you'll excuse me, I would like to go comfort my daughter."

Clark nodded as she left the room, and he felt himself smile as he followed her, parting ways when she entered Krystal's bedroom. He sighed as he had nothing better to do than wait until Krystal and Amy get done. Walking up to the family television, an RCA Smart TV, he crouched down to the Playstation 4 that he had bought for Krystal one year. Everyone would mess around sometimes on it, even bringing home games that all three of them could play. Since it was just him playing, he scanned through the games they owned, before finding the one he was looking for. Popping in the disk, he waited, and selected one of two options, before the start menu for Borderlands 2 popped.

"Ain't nothing like video games to pass the time." He muttered to himself. If he felt he had free time, and Krystal wasn't playing it, Borderlands was one of his favorite time wasters. Sometimes Amy would join him in the game.

Right as the main menu booted up, showing his main character, the Psycho, he felt his attention pull away as he heard a familiar type of engine he would sometimes hear when he was working. Looking through the blinds towards the front, he found a Peterbilt 379 Semi-Truck. It's cab and front were red, while the rear behind the cab was a blue. Where the smokestacks protruded from the cab, it went from red to white. Clark narrowed his eyes as a tall man got out of the truck.

The man had a typical trucker mustache, and he wore a red trucker hat on his head. He had on a red flannel short-sleeved button up, and blue jeans with a belt, and a silver belt buckle. On his feet were a pair of pointed cowboy boots. Clark didn't recognize the man at all. He opened the door as the man stepped onto the porch, standing in the doorway and preventing him from going inside. It was now that Clark noticed that despite how tall the man seemed before, he was still taller than him by a few inches.

"Can I help you, sir?" Clark asked the man, who nodded.

"You and your family were part of an accident yesterday. Am I correct, Mr. Kent?" The man asked him. Clark's eyes widened in shock.

"How do you know my name?" He asked, standing up straight, eyes narrowing in suspicion.

"I believe you know my daughter, Talida?" He said. Clark's widened in surprise this time, before nodding.

"I know Tally. Good kid. Bit secretive about her family, though." He remarked. The man nodded.

"Sir, my name is Optimus Prime, and what you saw yesterday is the very reason she kept her family secret." He informed him.

"You mean she knew about those robots?!" Clark shouted in surprise.

"If you want an explanation," Optimus started. "Then you, and your family, will have to come with me." He informed. Clark was silent for a moment, thinking over his options. This man was a random stranger, but he was Talida's father, and he was offering an explanation as to what had happened the night before. Sighing, he realized that he could always get them out of trouble, no problem.

"Give me just a second." He said. Before he could run inside, Optimus said one more thing.

"When you come back out, jump in the driver seat. Your wife and daughter can get in on the passenger side."

"Okay..." Clark didn't understand the instructions, but he would follow them anyway. He chuckled at the mistake Optimus had made. Although they live together, Clark and Amy have yet to actually get married. Walking back inside, he made his way to Krystal's room, finding Krystal hugging Amy. "Hey, you two." Both of them turned to face him, and Clark felt awful at the sight of his daughter's tear stained face. "Um, someone's here to pick us up."

Amy tilted her head. "Who? And why?" She asked.

"It has to do with yesterday." He said. Amy sighed.

"Krys told me what you two saw yesterday." She informed them. Clark tilted his head.

"You believe it?"

Amy laughed. "My boyfriend's an alien. And yes, I explained everything to Krystal."

Clark nodded. "Well, okay. Anyway, the semi is waiting."

Amy raised a brow. "Semi?"

Clark laughed. "Don't ask me."

"How do you know this person doesn't want to kill us?" She asked him.

"I don't." Clark admitted. "But if I get suspicious, I can always tear him, or it, to pieces and have you guys back here in no time."

Amy nodded. "That's true." She sighed, turning to look at Krystal. "Get your stuff ready, sweetie. Take something to play." She instructed. Krystal nodded, wiping her eyes.

"Okay Mommy." She said, standing up and grabbing a back pack as Amy left the room. Amy shot a gesture at Clark, telling him to follow her. Once they were in her room, she spoke.

"That poor girl is scared out of her mind. Are you sure this is a good idea?" She asked him once more, putting her shoes on. As it wasn't as cold as it was the day before, she decided to leave her jacket. Clark nodded.

"We need an explanation. And the person picking us up is Tally's father." He informed Amy, whose eyes widened.

"Talida?" She asked in surprise. Clark nodded.

"Yeah. Odd thing is, she knew about those robots from last night." Clark informed bitterly. "I'm not exactly happy with her about that."

"I'm sure she had her reasons." Amy assured him as she stood up. "After all, don't you?" She asked. Clark begrudgingly nodded.

"Yeah."

* * *

"And why exactly are we taking her?!" Jack yelled over the wind as him and Miko rode Arcee. They had met up with Bumblebee and had Talida ride with him and Raf, who was riding in front of them, so that it wasn't an awkward ride, with three people on one motorcycle.

"Rules." Arcee answered as they approached a T-section.

"Hey. Wait! WHOA!" Jack yelled as they drove past the stop sign and into the dirt, riding towards a large mesa. However, rather than crashing, a section of the surface split apart and opened, revealing a tunnel. The doors shut behind them almost the instant that Arcee and Bumblebee rode in. Jack, Miko, and Raf all looked around the base in wonder as they got out or off of there rides. There were two others there, a white and orange robot, and a big bulky green one.

"Cool." Raf said as he spotted the computers.

"Whoa!" Jack and Miko said as they gazed around at the base in wonder.

"Welcom to my humble abode, ladies and gentlemen." Talida said with a smirk.

"You live here?" Jack asked in surprise.

"Yep." Talida nodded eagerly.

"I thought there were two." The white robot said, recalling an earlier conversation between Talida and Arcee.

"Haven't you heard? Humans multiply." Arcee stated dryly.

"I'm Raf." The young boy introduced himself.

"And I'm Miko!" Miko piped in excitedly as she ran towards the big green one. "Who are you?"

"That's Bulkhead." Talida smiled as she introduced the big lug. Miko started firing off questions a mile a minute, causing Bulkhead to feel nervous. Talida suddenly felt sheepish. "Sorry Bulk. Probably should've warned you about the questions.

"It's all cool, sprout." Bulkhead smiled as he ruffled her head.

"Are you ever gonna stop calling me that?" Talida laughed as she fixed her hair.

"Not even when you're old and grey and we're rusting away." Bulkhead smirked at their private joke.

"Wait a minute. If you're robots, who made you?" Raf asked curiously.

"Puh-lease." The white and orange robot scoffed.

"Ratchet, behave." Talida warned the bot.

Their attention was drawn back to the tunnel, where a red, white and blue semi truck pulled into a stop.

"That would be the Autobots leader, and my dad." Talida said as a familiar family exited the truck, a look of amazement on two faces and a look of weariness on the other. "And the Kents?"

"What's up, guys." Clark asked with a wave, before he spotted Talida and his hand drooped. "Talida." The girl noticably flinched at the use of her actual name instead of the nickname he had given her.

Amy smacked her boyfriend in annoyance. "Be nice, Clark." The truck next to them transformed into a massive robot, the tallest one in the base. "So, what are you guys, anyway?" She asked as the family walked over to stand next to the teens, Krystal hinding behind her mother as she shyly looked at the giant robots in front of them.

"We are Autonomous Robotic Organisms, from the planet Cybertron." Optimus answered "Also known as Autobots."

"Alien robots?" Krystal asked in confusion, stepping out from behind her mother. She yelped and retreated once more, however, as the Prime crouched down low enough that his face was at their level.

"I won't harm you, little one." Optimus assured the child. The girl peeked out from behind her hiding spot, before glancing up at her mother. Amy gave a warm smile as she gestured towards the Autobot leader.

"It's okay sweetheart. He won't hurt you." Krystal glanced up at her father, who gave a begrudging nod, before she approached the living machine, the fear having disappeared as her eyes were full of wonder.

"Are you the leader?" The little girl asked. Optimus smiled at the child's curiosity.

"Yes, little one. My name is Optimus Prime." He introduced himself.

"Why are you here?" Jack asked.

"To protect your planet from the Decepticons." Optimus answered.

"Were those assholes from last night Decepticons?" Clark asked. Optimus nodded. "Why are they here?"

"A fair question, Clark." Optimus admitted. "In part, they are here bacause our planet is uninhabitable; ravaged by centuries of civil war."

"Why were you fighting a civil war?" Raf questioned.

"Foremost, for control of our world's supply of Energon, the lifeblood and fuel of all Autobots and Decepticons alike." Optimus answered. Clark thought about something.

"That including her?" He asked, jerking his thumb towards Talida. "Since she's you're daughter and all, wouldn't she run on this Energon stuff too?" He hadn't meant to sound like an ass when he said it, because it was an honest question, but the glare he received from Amy and the guilty look on Talida's face told him thst the tone was evident. Hearing it from a fellow teen was one thing, but hearing it from someone she looked up to like a secondary father figure was something else entirely. Optimus understood his irritation, however, and decided not to call him out on it.

"No. My daughter is a techno-organic. While she does get a few things from me, in form, she is mostly like her mother, with human skin, and blood, rather than Energon." Optimus explained. Miko looked at Talida.

"Where is your mom, anyway?" She asked.

"She died when I was a month old, because she got an illness from having me." Talida explained.

"Sorry, Tally." Clark's anger dispersed as he heard her story.

"You didn't know, Mr. Kent. I feel bad for what happened to you guys last night."

Amy glared at Clark, who sighed as he realized how bad she had already felt. "The past is in the past kid. Are there any other techno-organics?"

"Yeah." She answered as Optimus scooped her up in his hand, setting her on his shoulder. "There is another one we know of. But she's a Decepticon by the name of Malita. She's Megatron's daughter. He's the leader of the Decepticons. We don't get along well."

Amy thought about something. "This Malita wouldn't have anything to do with your disappearance a couple years ago, would she?"

"Unfortunately, yes."Optimus nodded, looking at his daughter in sadness at the memory. "She was kidnapped and tortured by Malita."

"Is that why Jack found her in an allyway with razor blades?" Clark asked.

Talida nodded. "I was kidnapped for two weeks. It took me an extra two weeks to heal and get my strength back. It's how I got these scars." Talida said, showing the group some burn and cut scars she had on her wrist and shoulder blades. Most of the group's blood boiled in anger, while Krystal looked at Talida in concern.

"I wanna kill her." Miko growled.

"Amen to that. I'll rip her damn head off if I get the chance." Clark remarked. Jack forgot about his anger as both he and Raf looked at Clark.

"By the way, you owe me and Raf an explanation, too." He said out loud, causing the man to visibly droop, his hand smacking his forehead.

"Shit." He said.

"Uh, what's he talking about?" Amy asked, looking at Clark in confusion.

"Krys didn't tell you?" Clark said, looking at Amy, who shook her head. He sighed. "They know." At her confusion, he spoke again. "About me?"

Amy's eyes widened in surprise, finally understanding his meaning. "Oh."

"Um, what are we missing here?" Miko asked in confusion as she, along with Talida and the Autobots, watched them talk. Clark sighed.

"I'm just gonna say it now. I'm not human. I'm an alien who happens to look human." He revealed, stunning everyone. "And before you ask, I don't know where I'm from, I don't what my species is, I've never heard of alien robots and I have no idea where my powers come from." He literally answered most of their questioned before they even asked them. "And if you don't believe me, here's proof." Clark bent down, and tore a baseball sized piece of concrete from the ground, as if he were literally picking up a baseball.

"What all can you do?" Miko asked, stars in her eyes. Clark sighed.

"Um, I get stronger and faster every day, and I have no idea what my limits are, I've never been hurt before in my, not even a bruise, and I have heat vision, X-Ray vision, superbreath and freeze breath." Everyone's eyes, even the Autobots, were filled with shock or wonder. Talida and Miko both froze, however, at one specific power.

"X-Ray vision?" Talida asked nervously as the two both moved to cover themselves, suddenly feeling naked. Clark sighed.

"If I did that, I wouldn't have a girlfriend." Clark remarked, looking at Amy with a smile. "Oh, but I can't see through lead." He added.

"Okay. Well, how about a tour?" Talida proposed, realizing that any more questions could wait for now.

"I'm in!" The three teens and one child all said simultaneously.

"Come on. Let's go." Talida said with a giggle as led the group away, but not before kissing her father on the cheek. Clark and Amy smiled and looked at each other.

"Well, this will be interesting." Clark remarked, wrapping his hand around Amy's shoulder as they walked after the kids.

* * *

**A/N: Now, I did try and ask IceGirl for permission to use her characters, but she never responded and the idea wouldn't stop bugging. I'm going to keep updating, but if she has any objections, I'll gladly take the story down. Anyway, that's all I really need to say, so I'll see you all in the next chapter.**


	2. Chapter 2: Darkness Rising Part 2

So, yeah. It turns out that Tally's dad is a giant living alien robot. Not only that, but he's the leader of a civil war faction call Autobots. And I thought I had it bad. At least my planet could still be very well peaceful. It turns out that that bike that was outside of K.O. Burger the day before was an Autobot female named Arcee. Jack got wrapped up in it when she got chased by two members of the opposite faction, Decepticons. Poor Jack had climbed onto her and was admiring her when she took off. Raf got sucked when the fight ended up happening at the causaway under the bridge. He had been there playing with his little toy car. As for Miko, well, she's just a stalker. Liked Arcee's bike mode when she was parked outside of their school, and literally followed her just so she could finish drawing it. We learned that Talida isn't technically a human, something called a techno-organic, which is literally the baby of an alien robot and a human. I got a pretty good idea who her mother is, because she acts so much like the woman, but I refuse to say until I know for sure.

Optimus Prime, the Autobot leader, had told us about Megatron, the leader of the Decepticons, and Malita, his daughter. Apparently, Megs has been missing for a good few years, but his daughter was still well at it. Apparently she had kidnapped and tortured Tally just for the hell of it. So when I get my hands on her, I won't kill her, but I'll damn well return the favor.

The Autobots consisted of about six, counting Tally, and what used to be seven members. There was Optimus, Tally, and Arcee. Then their was Bulkhead, a big green bot who transformed into an SUV. He apparently used to be the Cybertronian equivalent of a black ops member. Bumblebee was the scout, and practically child of the team. He got along well with Raf, so Prime made him his guardian. Bulkhead was Miko's. Poor guy. Jack got stuck with Arcee. The final member was Ratchet, the Autobot medic, and the kind of Autobot I could see telling a bunch of kids "Get off my lawn!" That'd funny as hell.

Before we found out about them, their apparently used to be another member, a bot named Cliffjumper. He was apparently killed literally yesterday. It sucked to hear that.

Krystal seems to like the bots. She seems to get along pretty good with Bulkhead and Bumblebee.

Amy wasn't too sure. And to be honest, I'm with her there. These guys are fighting a civil war against what sounds like an army. That's not a good environment for a child. Unfortunately, we have no choice. Optimus was right about one thing. They probably saw us, so we'd pretty much be threatened at anytime. Luckily, I'm no pushover. A giant robot has nothing on me.

* * *

"And since now you know of our existence, I fear that as of last night, the Decepticons now know of yours." Optimus announced to the newcomers.

"Well that fucking sucks." Clark remarked.

"Got it. If we spot any strange vehicles, call 911." Jack surmised.

"If only it were that simple, Jack." Talida said.

Clark went to make a joke, but shut his mouth when he saw the look Amy was giving him. "Don't be a smartass right now, Clark."

"Can we go now?" Jack asked.'

"Are you insane? I'm living a dream here in Botsuana! And I'm not gonna allow you or anyone else to shatter it!" Miko screeched, glaring and pointing at the rest of the humans. Clark glared right back at her.

"Well then sorry to burst your bubble kid, but we can't stay here all night. You kids have school, and I gotta work to make up for missing today." Clark pointed out, to Miko's dismay.

"Mr. Kent, it is best that you remain under our watch. At least, until we can determine our enemies intentions." Optimus said, interrupting the argument,

"Optimus, with all due respect, the human children are in as much danger here as anywhere." Ratchet warned Optimus not-so-quietly.

"Children?" Talida and Jack repeated in offense.

"Excuse me?" Amy said, placing a hand on her hip.

"Asshole!" Clark said with no subtlety whatsoever.

"Aside from the Kent man, they have no protective shell! And Talida doesn't have the capabilities to defend herself." Ratchet explained, to Clark's surprise and Talida's chagrin.

"Maybe you were listening after all." Clark said with a small smile.

"HEY!" Talida exclaimed in indignation.

"If they go underfoot, they will go... pssh. Squish." Ratchet said, stomping his foot for emphasis. Upon catching the glare he was getting from Talida, he spoke again. "And you know it's true Talida. You have no means of defending yourself. Why else wouldn't Optimus let you join us in the field?"

"How about common sense, for one." Amy remarked, glaring at both Talida, for ever going into the battle, and Ratchet, for assuming that she'd be able too eventually.

"That is not the point! Sure, you can just barely fight Malita without a problem, but a Decepticon? MEGATRON? You have no means of defending yourself!" Ratchet explained his reasoning.

"Well, why don't you take a swing at me? See what happens?" Talida challenged.

"Believe me I am tempted." Ratchet said, a slight growl in his voice.

"ENOUGH ALREADY!" Arcee's voice cut in, silencing the argument, and all activity in the base as everyone turned to look at her.

"Who knew you could yell like that?" Talida remarked.

"Mama Bird in da house!" Clark joked, earning a laugh from all the humans present, and even from Bulkhead and, based on the motions he was making, Bumblebee.

"We must simply watch where we step, Ratchet, like we've been doing since Talida was born." Optimus said, before some kind of alarm started going and the base started glowing green.

"What the mech?" Talida asked as they checked the computers.

"That's a new one." Clark remarked.

"What's that?" Jack questioned, nervous at the sudden change of atmosphere.

"Proximity sensor from up top." Bumblebee answered

"Proximity sensor. Someone's on the roof." Krystal said, to everyone's surprise.

"You can understand him too?" Raf asked in surprise. The six-year-old nodded.

"I can understand him too, somehow." Clark revealed.

"It's Agent Fowler." Ratchet's voice interrupted their little chat as he checked the computer screens.

"Aw great." Taldia sighed in frustration. "Whenever Fowler's here, you know it means trouble."

"I thought we were the only humans who knew about you." Amy remarked, remembering the earlier conversation.

"Special Agent Fowler is our designated liaison to the outside world. As he tends to visit when their are... issues, it may be best if you do not meet him at this time." Optimus advised. Almost immediately, the three teens and Krystal, and after some coaxing by Amy, she and Clark joined them. Optimus scooped his daughter into his hand and settled her onto his shoulder. He preferred having her their when Agent Fowler made his visits. The man in question, an African-American man dressed in a blue suit, stepped out of the elevator, and he did not look happy. Fowler got straight to business.

"Seven wrecks, thirty-four fender-benders, a three hour traffic jam, and a particular not: Numerous reports of a speeding motorcycle of unknown make and black and yellow custom muscle car." He rattled off as he stopped at the railing.

"Our bad." Talida and Arcee said, looking sheepish, and one could literally see the embarrassment in the yellow scout's eyes.

"Anything you'd like to get off your tin chest, Prime?" Fowler asked, glaring at the metal titan.

"We have the situation under control, Agent Fowler." Optimus reassured the Agent. It didn't work however.

"They're back, aren't they?" Fowler correctly guessed. Somehow.

"Hear me, Agent Fowler. We are your best-possibly your only-defense against the Decepticon threat." Optimus retorted calmly.

"Says you." Fowler shot back.

"Hey Fleshy! Did anyone splattered on that freeway?" Bumblebee and Arcee flinched at Bulkhead's words, glancing towards the Kents, before turning the gaze back to Fowler, their action going unnoticed. "Team Prime knows when to use force, and how much to use." As he said this, he ripped one of Ratchet's tools from it's drilled post and crushed in his hand as a display, to Ratchet's dismay.

"BULKHEAD, I NEEDED THAT!" The medic exclaimed in outrage.

"Enough!" Talida said, shutting them up, before turning her gaze back to Fowler. "Military involvement will result in widespread catastrophe. Perhaps you can condone widespread casualties, Agent Fowler. We, however, cannot."

"Then do us both a favor and handle this, Prime. Under the radar." Fowler requested before leaving. "Or I will."

"Pretty big bearings for a human." Bulkhead remarked.

"Agent Fowler is concerned for his world, Bulkhead. As he should be." Optimus said, a grave undertone in his voice.

"Blasted Earth tech!" Ratchet's sudden outburst caught everyone's attention, as the other humans, plus Clark, came out of hiding.

"Hey! Don't blame the tech!" Talida defended the technology.

"Cliffjumper's life signal just popped back online!" Ratchet announced, to the Autobot's surprise.

"Who's Cliffjumper?" Asked Miko, who wasn't paying complete attention during the earlier discussion.

"I thought Tally said he died?" Clark asked, confused as well, for a different reason.

"He did." Talida confirmed. "At least, we thought."

"How is this possible?" Optimus asked, confused by the anomaly.

"It isn't. Another bug. The chock full of them." Ratchet grumbled.

"DON'T BLAME THE TECH, YA FOOL!" Talida shouted.

"If there's any chance Cliff's alive..." Arcee didn't need to finish her sentence as Optimus looked at Ratchet.

"Ratchet, prepare sickbay." He ordered, before turning to his daughter. "Talida, I meed you to stay here and control the Groundbridge."

"Why do you always tell me to stay here when you know I'm gonna sneak along anyway?" Talida asked with a smirk.

"She does have a point, Optimus. I think she should tag along." Arcee announced suddenly.

"WHAT?!" The voices of both Optimus and Amy screeched in disbelief and rage.

"She's not not going anywhere." Jack proclaimed as he pulled Talida close to him.

"Choking! Not breathing!" Talida rasped as she struggled against his grip, causing Jack to let go of her.

"Oops." He said, rubbing the back of his head.

"Arcee, you know how I feel about letting Talida come with us to potential battlefields! What is with you?" Optimus hissed in a rage.

"Talida and I were closer to Cliffjumper than any of you! Besides, she can stick with me. I'll keep her safe." Arcee promised him. "She's almost sixteen. You can't keep her locked in the base for the rest of her life."

"No, but he's right in not letting her go to a fucking battlefield!" Amy hissed at the blue femme, who glared at the woman.

"What would you know about raising a techno-organic?" Arcee snarked to the woman.

"She may not be completely human, but it's crystal clear that she may not be able to fight a Decepticon easily! And how are you gonna protect her if you can't pay attention to her?!" Amy brought up some good points, and Arcee had to admit it.

"Enough you two!" Clark said firmly, breaking up the argument. He rested his hand on Taldia's shoulder, and while his grip wasn't firm, the look in his eyes told her that she wouldn't be moving without his say-so. The man's gaze moved up to the Autobot leader and fellow father. "The decision falls to Optimus. I can make sure she doesn't sneak along. But if she goes with, I assure you that I can and will keep her safe. With me, there's nothing to worry about." Clark told the Prime.

Optimus thought about for a moment. On one hand, he didn't know how well Clark would fare against a Decepticon, and he was still uncomfortable letting Talida accompany them. On the other, both Arcee and Clark made very good points. He couldn't keep Talida at the base and shield her from danger forever. Her kidnapping and torture were proof of that. And if Clark were to be believe, he could take out the drones just as easily as any of them. After what seemed like an eternity, Optimus Prime made his decision.

"Alright. Talida may come." He relented.

"Yes!" Taldia said, pumping her fist into the air.

"What?!" Amy screeched in surprise.

"But you are to stay close to Clark at all times, and not engage a Decepticon unless you truly have to. Am I understood?" He said firmly, leaving no room for argument.

"Aww." Talida's mood dropped slightly. but she didn't complain.

"Hey, what can we do?" Miko asked.

"Remain with Ratchet." Was Optimus's answer.

"Awwww." Was the response from both Miko and Ratchet as the Groundbridge activated.

"You better come back in one piece!" Amy warned Clark, a look of concern and worry present on her face. Clark chuckled.

"Please don't get hurt, Daddy." Krystal begged, wrapping her arms around his waist.

"I won't, munchkin." Clark assure her, giving his daughter a reassuring hug. "No stay with Mommy."

As he stood back up, he looked at Amy. "I promise I'll be back in one piece." He said, giving Amy a quick kiss.

"Eww." Miko muttered.

"Autobots, roll out!" Optimus instructed as all the Autobots, sans Ratchet, transformed into their alt. mode. Talida hopped onto Arcee, before looking at Clark.

"Are you gonna get in one of them?" She asked in confusion. Clark chuckled.

"Nah. I run faster." And with those words, Clark disappeared into a blur, rushing through the Groundbridge as the Autobots took off.

"Wow." Jack remarked. "He is fast."

Amy chuckled at the teens dumbfounded expression. "He can build an entire house in less than a second." She remarked.

"When did you find out he was an alien?" Raf asked the woman.

"Back in high school. I had just gotten pregnant with Krystal." She said, looking at her daughter, who was oblivious to their conversation, happily playing away on her Nintendo Switch.

"So, she's technically half alien, right?" Miko asked the woman, who nodded.

"Yeah. She's like Talida in a way. Just, a different species." She said, gazing at her daughter. "Luckily, even though she shares alien blood, doctors are unable to tell that."

"What do you mean?" Jack asked, tilting his head in confusion.

"Clark may look human, but you have to remember that he's not. His blood in going to be different. But Krystal got sick with the flu when she was about three, and we had no choice but to take her to the hospital. I don't remember why, but they had to draw blood. Her blood, despite being half alien, resembles human blood down to the microscopic level. They were unable to tell the difference." Amy explained. Raf thought of something.

"Has she ever shown any powers like Clark?" He asked the woman, who nodded.

"Yes, but don't tell Clark. That possibility worries him to death."

"Why? I think it'd be awesome! Nobody could mess with her!" Miko said, gaining a look from Amy.

"Clark doesn't want to put any kind of pressure on us. And if Krystal were to get powers at the scale her dad has them, we would have to teach her restraint to the point where every thing is fragile." Amy said. Miko's excitement dropped some.

"What all has she shown?" Jack asked.

"She breaks more toys than most kids, her hearing is better than a lot of others, and she's fast." Amy explained. "Clark doesn't notice somehow, and I feel bad for keeping it from Clark. But you guys know how happy-go-lucky he is. When he's worried and terrified, that's scarier than staring the barrel of a gun."

"Mr. Ratchet?" Krystal's voice caught all of their attention, including the mech who's name she asked. Ratchet was annoyed, but he did attempt to hid it for some odd reason.

"Yes?" He asked, turning to look at the child.

"What was that portal thingy that Daddy and the other Autobots went through?" She asked, tilting her head in curiosity. Amy, Jack, Raf, and Miko all came up behind her to hear Ratchet's answer.

"That was a Groundbridge. A scaled down version of Spacebridge technology that let's us transport to any location on this planet." Rachet explained. Upon seeing Krystal's confused look, he sighed. "It's like a teleporter."

"So we could visit my parents in Tokyo, like, right now?" Miko asked.

"Can we go visit Nana Kent, Mommy?" Krystal asked, looking up at her mother with pleading eyes, but Amy shook her head.

"Maybe when Daddy get's back. We don't want to worry him." She said, picking up her daughter and taking her back to the area they were previously occupying.

* * *

Upon exiting the Groundbridge, Clark examined his surroundings as he waited for the Autobots to arrive. He immediately took notice of the Cybertronians who were mining using what looked like massive drills. The the robots all had the same look as the robots Arcee was fighting back when they crashed. There were weird blue crystals sticking out of the walls, and Clark pretty easily guessed that it was Energon.

"They turn into vehicles, and they still have to drive some of them?" Clark asked himself in disbelief as the Autobots emerged from the Groundbridge and transformed, immedately readying to attack if needed.

"Energon mine." Bulkhead observed.

"Why are they mining it on Earth?" Clark asked, looking up at the former Wrecker.

"Over the course of the war, people started hiding Energon spoils off world." Bulkhead explained.

"Ah." Was Clark's answer.

"Judging by it's scale, The Decepticons have been tunneling here for quite some time." Optimus observed. The group hid behind a few rocks and watched the Decepticons mine away, filling up more and more buckets with Energon.

"Why do they all look the same?" Clark asked.

"These are only drones. Back on Cybertron, Megatron pretty much created and cloned his army in a lab." Bumblebee explained.

"Huh. Does he have an endless supply or something?" Clark asked the scout as Optimus stood to his full height.

"Let's find Cliffjumper!" Optimus proclaimed as he approached the Decepticons. The moment they noticed the Autobots, a fire fight broke out. One drone turned his drill on Bulkhead in an attempt to kill him, only for the green Wrecker to smash it to dust. As he delt with the drill, the other Bots, plus Clark charged at the army, guns blazing. Clark was firing his heat vision off to make up for his lack of a weapon. Arcee jumped into the air, Talida on her back, as they both fire rounds at the drones. Once Arcee landed, she delivered a devastating haymaker to a nearby Vehicon.

She immedately took off in a sprint. Another Vehicon started firing at Bumblebee, only for the scout to ramp off a peice of the cave floor. He transformed in mid-air and fired at the Vehicon, landing on him and crushing the drones innards. Looking up, his optics widened in surprise and he rolled out of the way of a drill that somehow managed to surprise him. The drill quickly found itself being lifted off the ground by Optimus, who fire at the underside of the drill to disable it. He charged even further into the fray, his eyes widening as he spotted their new arrival handling himself quite easliy.

Even though he was stronger than most humans, Clark's strength was easily disproportionate to his size. In each hand, he held a Decepticon drill, and was swinging them around like massive clubs. His optics widened in surprise as he watched the man tank an energon blast from a Vehicon, with no reaction whatsoever. Except anger.

"ASSHOLE!" Clark yelled, and with no effort whatsoever, chucked the drills at the lone Vehicon with blinding speed. The drone could only stare in disbelief and fear, before he was crushed under the drills.

"Remind me never to Clark." Talida remarked to Arcee, who nodded, optics also wide in surprise.

"Noted."

"It seems our friend is much more powerful than we initially gave him credit for." Optimus remarked. As the bots fought their own enemies, Clark sped off at the approaching Vehicons. He rammed into the leg of one, breaking the lower leg off at the knee and sending it flying, and causing the Vehicon to fall, no longer able to stand or fight. In no time at all, ran to another, and right up it's leg and torse, delivering a devastating uppercut and taking the drones head off. His speed sent him flying to the cave ceiling, and Clark turned his body, so that his feet landed on the roof, before pushing off the ceiling and towards a group of Vehicons. He hit the ground hard enough to cause a devastating shockwave, the force of his landing tearing through the Vehicons in the vicinity. He looked around, taking a second to admire his handiwork.

"You know," Bulkhead's voice caught his attention, and he saw the green bot walking towards him, a smirk on his face. "You would've made a good wrecker."

Clark smirked. "Thanks."

"Autobots, Maximum Overdrive!" Optimus's command rang out through the cave, and all the Autobots present, minus Talida, transformed into their alt. modes, the teen hopping onto Arcee. Clark watched in disbelief as the Autobots took off at speeds that were impossible for the Vehicles their forms were based after to achieve. The ran down any Decepticon in their way.

"Can't transform. Guess I'll just destroy any I see." And with those words, Clark took off at an accelerated pace. It wasn't quite super speed, but it was still superhuman. His body destroyed the legs of any Vehicon came into contact with. In a matter of moments, the Autobots had reached what looked to be the central hub of the mine.

"Quite the operation." Bulkhead remarked.

"Please tell me we're taking this back with us." Clark said as he spotted the Energon. He wasn't Cybertronian, but with how small of a group the Autobots were, they could certainly use it. All the sudden, Energon blasts started raining from above, and it turned into a fire fight once more. Upon narrowly avoiding a blast, Arcee and Talida spotted a familiar form.

"It's Cliff. We have a visual." Arcee informed the Autobots.

"We'll cover you!" Optimus assured his close friend and daughter. Arcee transformed and Talida went to climb on, but she turned her attention to Clark in worry when the man was sent skidding back by an Energon blast. Upon seeing her worry, he spoke up, setting her back on track.

"What are you waiting for, a green light?! GET YOUR ASSES MOVING!" He said as he activated his heat vision, bisecting some poor vehicon. Upon his words, Talida quickly climbed onto her close friend and mother figure, and they took off after Cliffjumper. "I hope your friend's okay, Optimus." Clark said as he moved up next to the Prime.

"So do I, Clark. So do I." The mech responded as he continued to fire.

When Talida and Arcee made it to their friend, they gasped in horror at seeing him. He was diagonally bisected, his lower half missing. A dark purple type of Energon was leaking from the severed mech. All the sudden, a hail of Energon blasts rained down from above, and Arcee clutched the techno-organic to her chest to protect her. She absolutely refused to let the junior Prime get hit. When the hail stopped, they turned back to find the section of floor that Cliffjumper was laying on was about to fall. Together, they grabbed his hand. Clark, Optimus, and the other Autobots continued providing cover for them as rocks started to rain down. They realized that the platform above was about to collapse.

"Let's get you home, partner." Arcee said as the girls pulled the mech up. However, they gasped in shock when Cliffjumper looked up at them. He didn't look normal. His eyes and even his mouth were glowing an eerie, menacing purple. He started howling at them like an animal, and ended up wiggling out of his grip and falling to his death.

Optimus watched in horror as Cliffjumper fell to his death. The mission was a failure. Everyone's attention was drawn up, however, by the sound of two voices cackling. One a male, the other a female. They spotted two forms, Starscream and Malita, each holding a bomb.

"Prime." The voice sounded menacing, but Clark couldn't bring himself to be scared due to Starscream's feminine appearance.

"Malita." That caught Clark's attention, and he glared at the female, now identified as Talida's torturer.

"Talida. Long time, no see." Malita sneered. Her gaze landed on Clark. "Who's the hunk?" She asked with a smirk.

"Malita?" Starscream asked in surprise.

"Don't worry, lover. I only have eyes for you." Malita said to the seeker, turning her gaze him.

"Clark, no!" Optimus's voice caught the attention of the two, and the looked down, only to spot Clark's form approaching them, a look of rage on his face. Malita jumped back in shock as Clark crashed into Starscream, sending the seeker to the ground. Clark moved quickly, grabbing the downed seeker by the foot and throwing him at the techno-organic. Picking up the bombs the two of them dropped, he threw them out through the opening in the ceiling. He heard the two return to their feet, and looked in their direction just in time recieve an energon blast, more powerful than the Vehicon guns, hit straight in the face. He was sent flying into a wall. Shaking off his surprise, he turned to glare at the assailant, which was Malita.

"How dare you! Do you know who I am?" She snarled, glaring at the man. Starscream had a smirk on his face as he watched the display. Their expressions quickly turned to fear, however, when Clark's eyes started glowing red.

"You tortured Tally. That's all I need to know." With an enraged roar, Clark fire his heat vision. The two just barely managed to dodge it, and Starscream quickly jumped and took flight, Malita climbing into his alt. mode. They both soared after the retreating warship.

"Dammit." Clark said in annoyance as he silence his heat vision. Standing to his feet, he looked down at the Autobots, who were staring at him with shock and awe, which he did not realize. "What?"

"Ratchet," Optimus said through his com-link. "Open the ground, and prepare for Energon transport."

* * *

"So, what about Cliffjumper?" Ratchet asked as the Autobots came through the bridge. The mood immediately dropped for the five Autobots, plus Clark.

"Arcee, Talida, what did you see?" Optimus asked the two gently.

"Not Cliff. Not anymore." Talida answered.

"He was mutated. Butchered. Like something from the Con experiments during the war." Arcee explained.

Suddenly, both girls felt a wave of dizziness overtake them. Bumblebee caught Arcee, and Clark caught Talida, the two making sure neither females hit the ground.

"Are you two alright?!" The scout beeped in worry.

"I'm fine Bee. Just dizzy." Arcee said as Bumblebee helped her sit down.

While it was obvious that the Autobots were alien, and had emotions, realization finally dawned on Jack, Miko, and Raf as they heard what Arcee had said.

"Robots who get dizzy." Miko started.

"Robots with emotions." Raf added.

"Robots... who can die." Jack finished, the facts finally hitting them as the teens realized that not only were the robots in front of them machines, but they were living creatures. Ratchet immediately scanned the two of them. The scanner turned red on Talida's torso and Arcee's hand, both of which had the purple Energon that was leaking from Cliffjumper.

"What is this?" Ratchet asked as he took samples from the two.

"Don't know. Cliff was covered in it." Talida recalled dizzily.

"Both of you, take a decontamination bath. Now." Ratchet ordered. Nodding, Arcee picked up Talida and both made their way to decontamination showers. While Ratchet prepared the samples for examination, he looked at Optimus. "Why did you ask me to prepare the Energon carts?"

Optimus looked down at Clark, who was catching up with his family and the teens. He assumed Clark had told them about his incident with Malita and Starscream, if Amy's angry slapping at his arm was any giveaway. "Thanks to Clark, we know have an entire cave of mined Energon at our disposal." Optimus informed the medic.

"So he did hold his own against the Decepticons?" Ratchet asked.

"Indeed, old friend. Personally, I believe the battle was easier with him present." The Prime remarked, to Ratchet's surprised. "Although, I don't think I would like to have his assistance as a regular occurence. Especially considering his recklessness."

"What happened?" Ratchet asked Optimus.

"Clark engaged Malita and Starscream alone. Both were armed with Energon charges." Optimus explained. Any further conversation was interrupted by Jack, causing Ratchet to begin focusing on his examination.

"Um, Optimus, I hate to bug, but... no bars." Jack showed the mech his phone screen to prove the point.

"A security precaution. The silo walls isolate radio waves." Optimus explained to the teen.

"Well, if I don't call my mom, like, now, I'm pretty sure the cops will come looking for me and Talida. Me and her are supposed to have a movie night sleepover at my place. Her cover story is that your in the Navy and you're dispatched to sea." Jack explained.

"Have you broken the law?" Optimus asked worriedly, bending down closer to the teen. He really didn't want to hear that his daughter was a law breaker.

"Curfew." Clark spoke up for Jack, catching the Prime's attention. "State Law. Anyone under the age of eighteen is not allowed outside unless accompanied by a parent or guardian."

"So, technically, you have broken the law because of me. Apologies." Optimus said. Jack waved it off.

"No problem. It seems like you have a lot on your plate." The teen said.

"We need to get home too." Amy spoke up, holding a now sleeping Krystal in her arms. "Krys has school tomorrow, and Clark and I have work."

"You'd think that I would learn these customs after having a teenage daughter with a human." Optimus with a chuckle. "But issue of your safety remains. Bulkhead, accompany Miko home."

"AWESOME! MY HOST PARENTS WILL FREAK!" Miko cheered.

"And maintain covert surveillance in vehicle form." Optimus added at the girls words.

"Curbside duty. Got it." Bulhead nodded, earning a moan of disappointment from Miko.

"Miko, Bulkhead can't be standing outside of your house. Then hiding goes out the window." Amy explained to the disappointed teen, who nodded in understanding.

"I guess."

"Bumblebee, you'll watch over Raf." Optimus instructed, to the excitement of both bot and human. "Ratchet?"

"Busy." Ratchet waved off the Prime as Talida and Arcee exited the decontamination showers.

"Arcee, you'll accompany Jack." Optimus decided.

"Still dizzy." Arcee faked dizzyness in an attempt to get out of the job. Unfortunately, Ratchet wasn't so helpful.

"You're fine, says you physician." He butted in.

"I have a sleepover with Jack, so I'll be coming along." Talida said in a sing-song voice. Arcee immediately transformed.

"Hop on."

As the teens speed off, Optimus himself transformed. "That leaves you and your family to me, Mr. Kent."

* * *

"I know it's bad memories, but I gotta ask. How did Talida get kidnapped? It seems like those drones would be no match for you." Clark remarked as he sat in the drive side of Optimus's alt. mode.

"Your curiosity is understandable." The Prime said through his radio. "She went with Cliffjumper on what was supposed to be reconnaissance. But it was trap. They were ambushed. Talida was kidnapped, and Cliffjumper was left with barely enough strength to call for aid."

"Damn." Clark said, stunned.

"When we were down in the mines, we were a group. Cliffjumper only Talida, and although she is not entirely human, she does not posses your abilities." Optimus pointed out. Clark nodded. He had to agree with the logic. Just because they were giant robots didn't change the fact that they could still be overwhelmed.

They rode in silence for a long while, before Clark spoke up once more. "You said you're fighting a war. Is that right?"

"That is correct." The Prime admitted.

"So you've killed people." Optimus was silent for a moment, before speaking once more.

"Yes."

"When was the first time you killed?" The question was odd, and Optimus was silent, unsure of whether to answer or not. "If you don't want to-"

"When the war first broke out, I was merely an archivist. A librarian." The Prime revealed. Clark nodded.

"You know, that's not that difficult to see."

"You're the first person to think so." The Prime remarked. "Anyway, the Decepticons attacked the library I worked at. I hid. Unfortunately, a lone Decepticon soldier was coming upon my hiding spot while my mentor fought the rest off. I hadn't known this was the start of a war. I thought it was a random attack. With no other noticeable option, I... surprised the soldier, and killed him." Optimus recounted the story. "Why are you asking me this?"

Clark was silent for a moment, before he started speaking. "A few years before I got Amy pregnant, someone broke into the farm me and my parents lived at. My hearing had just kicked in the day before, so I was woken when I heard him breaking in. I got up to make sure that what I head was happening at my home and not somewhere else. When I finally figured out that someone had broken into my home, I stepped out into the hallway. My parents' bedroom was a few doors down. When I stepped out of my room, I saw someone standing outside my parents bedroom, the door, and a double barrel shotgun aimed at them." As he retold the story, Optimus could see the pained and haunted look in the man's eyes.

"What did you do?" The Prime asked, though he had a feeling he already knew.

"I killed him. It happened so fast that my parents weren't even woken up by it. Drove my hand right through his chest. I still remember the look in eyes." Clark said. "People say that if you kill one person, it gets easier to kill again. They're full of shit. You got to kill a hundred before it gets easier. Me and my parents made up a story. There was a struggle, and the man ended up being shot with gun. The police somehow believed it. I'm not proud of that day, and if I could, I would go back, and change how it played. Incapacitated the man, instead of killing him."

For the first time in many years of his existence, Optimus Prime was speechless.

"It haunts you, doesn't it." Optimus said more than asked. Clark nodded.

"Every day. I still have nightmares about it every once in a while." He admitted. "I'm no saint, but killing? That's one thing I never wanna do again. Ever."

"I may be fighting a war, but the blood that stains my hands will always haunt me." Optimus admitted. "I've killed so many, they've all blurred together. The only thing that keeps me going, is my team. My family. My daughter. I know we've only just met today, but I'm always here to talk, Clark."

"Thanks, Optimus." Clark agreed with the mech. Clark was so caught up in his conversation with Optimus, he hadn't realized that someone else present was awake.

"I must ask, why do you keep this from Amy? She seems like she would always be willing to help you through something like this." Optimus remarked.

"I know, but I just have this fear, that if she found out, she'd leave me, or think I wasn't safe to be around. Nothing on this planet has physically hurt me. But if she and Krystal left, or something happened to the,? That would kill me." Clark revealed to the Prime. "I plan to tell her, someday. But I just can't manage too, right now."

"Your secret is safe with me, Clark. But promise me that you will one day tell her. I don't want to see you two separated over secrets." Optimus admitted to the family man. Clark was so caught up in his conversation with Optimus, he hadn't realized that someone else present was awake.

Amy had always known that something haunted Clark, but he'd always told her it was his past as a school fighter. Now she knew better.

_ 'Oh Clark. Why would I judge you?'_

* * *

** A/N: So that's the end of the chapter. Consider Clark's incident my adaptation of the MECH incident on the train in Another Type of Alien. I know some people may have a problem with that, but this is my own version of Clark. He's not a perfect boy scout. He's may be an alien, but he's still a man trying to do his best the real world. No, I'm not saying any of this is possible, I just basing my Clark's personality on what I think Superman would be like in the real world. Now, something I'm going to go ahead and get out of the way: Kryptonite will not be introduced until the Season Two. Which will be a different story. So anyone who wonders why kryptonite is not in this story, you'll see why. With that, I'll see you in the next chapter.**


	3. Chapter 3: Darkness Rising Part 3

Fearless Chapter 3

Okay, so. The Decepticons. All the ones I've met so far, Malita seems to be the most dangerous. Starscream's a pansy and the drones make stormtroopers look like James Bond. I'm not even kidding. The only thing they have for them is numbers. But they never have met anyone like me.

Screamer and Malita were gonna blow the mines. Thought it might kill us all. Instead, I chucked the bombs god knows where, scared off Malita and her girlfre- oh, sorry. BOYfriend. Fucker looks like a girl though. Now the Autobots have an entire Energon mine at their disposal. Your thinking the mission was a success, right? Wrong.

Yes. The Bots have a shit ton of Energon now, but the mission was to bring back a comrade. Cliffjumper. I watched his body fall. And I hate to say, but it was obvious that wasn't Cliff. They may be robots, but the Autobots are still living creatures. Unless they regenerate like Deadpool, they aren't gonna be alive when they have less than half their body. Poor guy was sliced in half, shoulder to stomach. Looked like something out of a George A. Romero movie. If Dawn of the Dead were about zombie robots and not actual zombies. Hell, the corpse was covered in some kind of Energon that nearly knocked out Talida and Arcee from about 20 minutes of contact. Little did we know, that Cliffjumper was just the beginning.

* * *

"Pete! Need those 2x4's or this truss is gonna fall!" Clark said, standing on the inner rings of one truss and holding the other upright. This was the job Pete and Clark currently had, as they were building a simple barn. It was alway the two of them, maybe someone would join them. Sure, that made it difficult, but the two enjoyed it that way. Less people, more pay.

"Coming right up Clark!" Said the African-American man. Pete Ross had been Clark's best friend since middle school, and the two maintained a steadfast loyalty to each other. Clark occasionally felt guilty about keeping his friend in the dark about his origins, but he didn't want to lose his best friend because he wasn't human. It was also Pete who helped him get over his previous crush, Lana Lang. Clark was never able to return the favor, no matter how much he tried, but Pete did eventually find someone good for him. Pete didn't always have it easy with people, due to the fact that his wife was a white woman, but he didn't care. It was their life, not someone else's. The only person who's word truly mattered to Pete was Clark's. "Here you go man." He said, handing the wooden board up to Clark.

"Thanks, man." Clark said as he took the board. Clark held the truss in place long enough for Pete to climb up to the unfinished roof, where he held the truss in place while Clark nailed the board, making sure the truss wouldn't tilt or fall. Both gave a sigh of relief as they finished work for the day.

"Those last couple of trusses were hell, weren't they, Clark?" Pete asked, out of breath, a smirk ever present on his face.

"Yeah, they were." Clark said in agreement as he and Pete gathered up the tools, setting them in the back of Pete's maroon colored Chevy Silverado. They weren't actually that heavy to Clark, but he had to keep up the act. As much as he trusted Pete, Both men hopped into the truck, and Pete sighed as he cranked up the air conditioner and drove away from the site.

"So how's Amy doing?" Pete asked, making conversation with Clark to pass the time. The job sight was about a half hour away from Jasper, at ranch.

"Pretty good. It's like that crash never even happened." Clark said with a chuckle. "She's a small one, but she's a tough one too."

"Ain't that the truth?" Pete said with a laugh. "How about Krystal? Did she get hurt?"

Clark shook his head. "No. She was scared but, luckily, she wasn't hurt." He said, to Pete's relief. "Thanks for bringing the car back by the way."

"No problem man. What even happened? How'd it get backed up like that?" Pete asked.

"Some fucker in a Lamborghini was speeding down the road god knows how fast. He rear ended us fast enough to said our car flying. God only knows how much damage his car got, but he deserved it."

"It's a shocker he was even able to drive off. You'd think both cars would be crushed." Pete remarked. "I'm glad they weren't though."

"Me too, man. Me too." Clark sighed. They rode in silence as they listened to the radio, which was playing the song Save Me. At least, Clark assumed that's what it was. Eventually, they pulled up to Clark's house, and that's when Pete noticed the red and blue big rig.

"Who's truck?" He asked, wide-eyed.

"You didn't notice that this morning?" Clark asked as Pete pulled into his driveway.

"No. You know how dark it is when we get up." Pete said, to which Clark nodded.

"True. I had planned on trying to get a job as trucker. Figured it might help pay the bills, and leave a little more leftover money." Clark lied. Although, it might help, really. "But I didn't want it to get in the way of our job. Hell, may just get a license for it and keep it. Looks nice, don't you think?"

"It does, man. Hey, do want you want Clark." Pete said to the man. "Don't let me stop you."

"Okay." Clark said with a smile. "Well, see ya, Pete." He said as his friend put his truck into reverse.

"See ya Clark." Pete said as well, returning the smile as he backed out of the driveway, before taking off down the road. Once Pete was far enough away, Clark sighed.

"So, I guess we gotta head back to base with you?" Clark correctly guessed.

"I know the situation is not ideal, but I only wish for you to stay with us until we know the Decepticons will not attack you." Optimus explained his reasoning.

"I understand, Optimus." Clark said. "Give us a second."

* * *

As Optimus pulled into the base, they were welcomed to the site of Ratchet stomping on something. What it was, he they couldn't be sure. As the Kent family exited the truck, Optimus transformed into his robot mode.

"What happened Ratchet?" He asked as his old friend finally stopped stomping.

"My microscope. The one Bulkhead broke. I dripped some of that substance onto it by accident and it came to life and attacked me." The medic explained, bewildered and confused.

"How does a microscope magically come to life?" Amy asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I have a grave suspicion. Dark Energon. If the residue Arcee and Talida on Cliffjumper brought your broken equipment to life, it would stand to reason that the very same substance brought Cliffjumper back from the dead." Optimus proclaimed as Ratchet disposed of the broken piece of equipment.

"So, what, we're looking at some kind of alien Dawn of the Dead?" Clark asked, looking up at the red and blue titan.

"While I would normally scoff at such a comparison, it would seem that way, Mr. Kent." Ratchet answered the man's question. The only reason he knew what Dawn of the Dead was is because Talida had once had a 'George Romero Marathon' as she had called it.

"Damn. That's...pretty scary."

"The Dark Energon would account for Cliffjumper's life signal inexplicably coming back online. But the substance is so scarce as to be virtually non-existant! What would it be doing on Earth?" Ratchet asked his leader in confusion.

"It was transported. By Megatron." Optimus realized, his optics slightly widening in surprise.

"Why the hell would he do that?" Clark asked.

"To conquer this planet by raising an army of the undead." Optimus answered in a grave tone.

"Well, Megatron would need to break quite a few toaster ovens. I mean, where on this world would he find that many Cybertronian dead?" Ratched asked in disbelief. The conversation was interrupted by the sound of engines as the other Autobots rode into base with their respective charges, all of them laughing and smiling to their heart's content. It was obvious that the Autobots had made their charges happy, and it didn't escape Clark's attention the way the Autobot leader was looking at Arcee.

"That was awesome!" Jack proclaimed as the Autobots transformed, and he tackled Talida to the ground in a hug.

"Can we go again?" Raf asked Bumblebee excitedly.

"Sweet!" Miko squealed in excitement herself, before some kind of rumbling, similar to an upset stomach, was heard from Bulkhead.

"I think you forgot something." Talida said with a laugh before Bulkhead took out Miko's guitar case.

"Sorry. Must have left that in the back seat." Miko apologized sheepishly, taking the guitar from the green mech.

"Autobots, prepare to..." Optimus trailed off when his eyes landed on their new human friends.

"Roll out?" Arcee guessed.

"Remain here." Optimus said, changing his mind. "Ratchet, you'll come with me. Arcee, Clark, we'll be outside communication range for some time. So I'm putting you two in charge."

"What?!" Talida said in disbelief. "He's new! Why's he in charge? I'm always in charge!" The teen objected, outraged that she was no longer in charge.

"While that may be true, Talida, he is an adult, and one who will make you stay safe." He glanced up at the Autobots. "All of you."

"Dude, you're biggest! You should be the boss." Miko said, looking up at Bulkhead.

"He never picks me. Besides, Arcee is a better leader, Talida is technically his heir, and Clark is a superpowered adult who will make sure we don't get in trouble." Bulkhead explained, glancing at Clark. "I've seen him in action."

"Optimus, with all due respect, playing bodyguard is one thing, babysitting is another. And with someone who is practically a stranger?" Arcee objected.

"I'm right here y'know?" Clark said, glaring at the femme.

"Besides, Ratchet hasn't been in the field since the war." Arcee reminded her friend and leader.

"My pistons may be rusty but my hearings sharp as ever." Ratchet piped in, offended.

"For the moment, it's only reconnaissance." Optimus reassured his second in command, and close friend.

"If you die out there, I'll revive you so I can kill you myself." Talida threated as she attempted to wrap her arms around her father's massive neck.

"I love you, sweetspark." Optimus said with a smile.

"Love you too, Dad." Talida said with a smile of her own before Optimus and Ratchet left through the Groundbridge.

"Ok, chief. So what's on the activities list?" Jack asked casually.

"I'm going on patrol." Arcee said with a scoff.

"But Optimus told us to stay." Bulkhead objected, earning a glare from the femme.

"When you're in charge, you can call the shots." Arcee retorted. "Bumblebee, with me."

** "Aw man."** The scout whirred.

"Let the kid stay back." Clark said, earning a glare from Arcee.

"I don't take orders from you." She hissed, venom practically spewing from her speech.

"Maybe not." Amy spoke up, having left Krystal to play games with Raf. "But you the rest of them do take orders from him. And those are Optimus's orders."

"Well, I told Bee to come with me, and I won't have my orders being second guessed by someone we only just met yesterday." Arcee retorted.

"We wouldn't even be here if it weren't for-!" Amy was about to shoot back, but a familar soft but tough arm around her shoulder stopped her mid sentence.

"You have a com. link if you need us. And Bulkhead knows how to operate a Groundbridge, right?" Clark pointed out, causing the femme to narrow her eyes. "If you need back up, we're literally a few steps away at all times."

"It's always better to have back up in the field." Arcee said, turning to look at him fully.

"Look, Arcee, I know you don't like sharing leadership with someone you just met. Heck, I don't like the fact that he was put in charge instead of me." Talida remarked, glaring at the family man, who rolled his eyes. She sighed, before turning back to Arcee. "But Clark does make some good points."

Arcee was silent for a moment, before turning to Bulkhead. "And what do you say, Bulk?" Bulkhead looked a little nervous at being put on the spot, before looking at the femme.

"I think we should let Bee chose, really." At the former wrecker's words, every one turned to the scout. Bumblebee felt nervous as all attention was put on him. He looked back and forth between Raf and Arcee, having a difficult time to decide. He really liked Raf, and wanted to spend more time with him, playing video games and other things. But he didnt want to make Arcee angry. And he certainly didn't want to hurt either of their feelings. After a few seconds, Bumblebee finally decided.

**"Sorry, Cee. But I wanna stay."** Was the scout's answer. With sigh, Arcee nodded, before taking off.

"What's her problem?" Amy asked, glaring at the tunnel Arcee had left through.

"She got angry because someone she had only just met was made leader and he second guessed her orders." Talida explained with a sigh. "She'll get over it eventually."

"So, uh... what's on the activities list?" Bulkhead asked, before his hands shot up to his audio receptors, covering them in pain as a loud noise shot through base.

"How about band practice?" Miko said as she started strumming on her guitar, and it was obvious she was a fan of either rock, heavy metal, or both. Unfortunately, the guitar was too loud and she forgot to take something into account.

"OWWWWW!" Krystal's little voice yelled in pain as her ears were brutally abused by the loud noise. Clark glared at Miko. The only reason he wasn't in agony was because he knew how to focus on what he wanted to hear. He picked up the closest hard object he could, which happened to be a wrench in his back pocket, and threw it at the amp. The wrench embedded itself into the amp, and both were sent flying by the momentum, and it effectively shut the screeching out of tune noise up.

_**"No."**_ Clark said firmly, a growl in his voice.

"Are you okay, Krystal?!" Amy asked, rushing to her daughter's side, who was still on the floor, having collapsed as her ears were practically murdered by the sound, tears stinging in her eyes.

"Miko!" Talida shouted, glaring at the transfer student.

"Oops." Miko said sheepishly, remembering what Amy had told them the day before.

"You could've seriously hurt her ears!" Jack admonished with a glare of his own.

** "Will she be okay?"** Bumblebee asked, worried for the child

"Is she okay Mrs. Kent?" Raf asked as well, both for translation and because he was worried himself.

"My ears are ringing..." Krystal said slowly, tears still running down her face as she was picked up by Amy, who sat on the couch.

"Let me see your ears." Amy said softly, turning Krystal's head left and right so she could look in each ear. "They're red, but they'll be okay." She said with a sigh of relief, glad her daughter's ears weren't damaged.

"Hah! She's tough. A little sound won't hurt her." Bulkhead said, a smile on his face as he looked at the child.

"Thank you, Bulkhead." Krystal said, rubbing her as in an attempt to wipe away the tears, smiling at the Wrecker's words.

"No problem, Gem."

"Sorry, Kryssie, I didn't mean to hurt you." Miko apoligized sincerely, a regretful look in her eyes.

"It's okay. Mommy says that I should try to forgive everyone, as long as it's an accident." Krystal said, accepting the girl's apology.

"Anyway, how about we play video games. The may have loud noises, but at least they won't be loud enough to murder our ears!" Clark said, glaring at Miko.

"What all can we play?" Raf asked.

"More racing?" Bumblebee proposed. Clark shook his head.

"Nah. How about some Borderlands?" He said, showing them the case for the second game.

"Yes!" Krystal said excitedly, ready to play her and her father's favorite game.

"I've never played that. I heard it's good though." Raf remarked.

**"I've never played it either."**

"Then don't I have a world for you." Clark said with a smirk. However, his idea was interrupted when the proximity alarm started going off.

"Proximity sensor. Quick! Hide! Now!" Bulkhead instructed, reaching his hand down for Talida to hop on. "Hop on, Little Lady."

"This is annoying." Clark grumbled as he, along with the others, hid behind Bulkhead's giant foot. Bulkhead settled Talida on his shoulder, Bumblebee moving to stand next to him, and right as they finished making everything look as normal as possible, the elevator doors opened, and Fowler immediately stormed out, angry as all get out.

"Prime!" He called out, looking around for the Autobot leader.

"Yo!" Talida answered instead.

"Prime SENIOR! Not Prime JUNIOR!" Fowler corrected angrily.

"Agent Fowler! He's... uh, he's not here. Nobody's here! Well, except for me, Talida, and Bee, of course." Bulkhead lied, looking sheepish.

"Well, where'd he go? Wait, don't tell me. He's out pancaking a mini-mall." It wasn't a real guess, but it was obvious what he meant.

"Hey! That's my father you're talking about there, Fowler! A little respect would be nice!" Talida interrupted, glaring at the government agent.

"Now, I don't know what language you speak on your planet." Fowler started, completely ignoring Talida. "But Prime prosmised you would handle the Decepticons, and blowing a crater in the middle of Nebraska is not what the word 'handle' means in English! So you tell Prime-!" Fowler was interrupted as Miko's amp let out one final ear twisting shreak from Bulkhead's massive foot catching the cord, and a yelp of pain was heard. Fowler immediately glared at all three bots, including Talida, all of whom shrunk under his gaze. "Who was that?"

**"Uh oh. Busted."** Bumblebee beeped a remark. Everyone behind Bulkhead's foot stepped out from behind it, revealing themselves to Fowler. Fowler's eyes bulged out of their sockets as he spotted the humans.

"Uh... hi?" Clark greeted sheepishly. He realized that this was not a position he needed to be in. Sure he was powerful, but government agents did not make him feel comfortable, especially with his secret.

"Contact with civilians! Team Prime has really gone off the book this time! Don't tell me, you're running a daycare center now!" Fowler was absolutely outraged at the revelation.

"Uh...ok," Bulkhead was unsure of how to explain this.

"We can explain..." Talida said, sounding unsure of her words.

**"No we can't."** Bumblebee said, knowing Fowler couldn't understand him.

"Ok, Let's move." Fowler said, approaching the group. "I'm taking all six of you into federal custody. For your own protection." He informed them, causing Clark to get nervous. Luckily for him, Bulkhead and Bumblebee weren't having it.

"We're protecting them." Bulkhead, stomping his foot down to seperate Fowler from the group, Bumblebee whirring in agreement as he came around to seperate the group from the agent. Fowler glared at the two bots. He may be an ant compared to them, but he was not afraid of them.

"Is that so? Maybe you can explain that to my superiors at the Pentagon." Fowler challenged as he picked up the phone and began dialing the number. Clark outright gulped at this.

"Don't use that phone!" Talida said as Bulkhead poked it, crushing it.

"It's out of order." Bulkhead finished.

**"Now."** Bumblebee remarked.

"This isn't over, Bigfoot! Not by a long shot!" Fowler assured the bot as he stomped up the steps. When he walked into the elevator, the bots let out a huge sigh of relief.

"Thank god. He's gone." Talida remarked.

**"You know he'll be back, right?"** Bumblebee asked the teen, who nodded.

"Yeah."

"Clark, are you ok?" Amy asked her boyfriend. Everyone turned to look at the man, and were a bit spooked to find his face a ghostly pale white.

"Not really. I don't need to be involved with the government." Clark said with a shake of his head.

"Sorry, Daddy." Krystal apologized, believing it was her fault that they were caught. Clark sighed as he picked up his daughter.

"It's not your fault, Krys." He reassured the girl. "Here, let's play some video games, get our minds off of the topic." He walked up the steps to the human area, the rest of the group following close behind. As he trudged up the steps, he thought about what Fowler would possibly do.

* * *

Fowler was beyond angry. Prime's little girl seems to think she's some kinda big shot, just because her father's a giant metal robot. And Bigfoot! He actually tried to keep him from contacting the Pentagon, not to mention he had the brass balls to hide it. The orders were clear. Don't bring any civies into it. And what happens? Six different people, two kids, two teens, and two adults are all involved. At least the yellow bot had enough sense to not get involved. As his helicopter finally lifted off of the former missile silo, he pressed the transmit button on his aircraft's built-in radio.

"Sir, Agent Fowler. We have a situation. I'm enroute from the autobot base. I'll brief you in person." Fowler spoke into the radio, unaware that his transmission was being picked up by the very terror that the Autobots are protecting humankind from.

"Sir, Agent Fowler. We have a situation. I'm enroute from the autobot base. I'll brief you in person." Fowler's transmission was replayed to Starscream and Malita by Soundwave. The two smirked as an idea dawned on them.

* * *

"Autobot base, eh?" Malita said with a snide smirk.

"Humans. Always the weak link." Starscream remarked. "And that beast in human skin will not stop us this time."

"Deploy Laserbeak to fetch us this Fowler, Soundwave. He may brief us, instead." Malita commanded the silent seeker. Soundwave made no motion to indicate he had heard them, as the plate on his chest detached and folded, revealing the scout drone Laserbeak. With a hum, the drone flew off, ready to retrieve Fowler.

* * *

**"I need help, I'm down!"** Bee chirped, his character, the Commando, having been downed on Borderlands. If he could show his mouth, it would have a massive grin on it.

"I'm coming Bee!" Raf said as he steered his character, a Mechromancer, in Bee's direction.

"I got him Raf." Krystal said, reviving Bee with her character, a Siren.

"Hey, there's purple pistols in this guncrate if any body wants them." Clark said, as Amy walked toward the gaming group.

"Clark?" Amy called her boyfriend, catching the large man's attention.

"Yeah?" Clark said, ignoring his dying character as he turned his attention to the blonde haired woman in his life.

"You need to talk to Talida." Amy said, causing Clark's eyebrow's to furrow in confusion.

"Why?" Clark asked her.

"She still thinks your angry about what happened under the bridge." Amy explained. "She blames herself for not telling you sooner."

Clark let out a sigh. "Alright, I'll talk to her." He said, dropping out of the game as he stood to his feet. He walked away from the human area, finding Talida walking down the corridor that would take her to her room.

Talida felt a rush of wind behind her, and nearly jumped when she heard Clark's voice behind her. "Tally?" She turned around to find her secondary father figure behind her, looking at her in concern.

"Yeah, Mr. Kent?"

"Amy told me you thought I was mad at you." Clark explained. Talida's feet suddenly became very interesting to her.

"When you guys got here yesterday, you weren't exactly hiding how mad you were at me." Talida said, recalling the events of the day before. Clark sighed.

"I admit I wasn't happy with you when I found out." Talida's shamed gaze didn't move from her feet. "But," Talida finally looked up at the man. "I can't really be angry at you without being a hypocrite. I've been hiding my powers for as long as I can remember. I was mostly just angry because of what happened to Amy under the bridge."

Talida's shame did not go away, but she at least maintained her gaze with the man. "I'm sorry about-"

"Shaddup." Clark said quickly, interupting the techno teen. "Don't be apologizing for something that ain't your fault. I will be pissed at you if I hear an 'I'm sorry' for what happened on the bridge." Talida was silent at Clark's annoyed gaze, which turned to shame. "Hell, I was mad at you, and you've been through more hell than I'll ever be."

Talida's eyes widened. This conversation had taken a quick 180.

"It's not your fault." Talida said. Clark huffed.

"I know it ain't my fault. But you got stuck in hell for three weeks, and I those energon blaster things can't even hurt me. It doesn't excuse my attitude." Clark sighed. "So, sorry, for my attitude the other day."

"It's fine." Talida said. She honestly couldn't be happier to know Clark wasn't angry. "Hey, is Mrs. Kent okay?" Talida asked in concern. Clark chuckled.

"You kidding? She was up and about the very next morning!" He said with a grin. "She's fine. Come here." He said, approaching Talida for a hug, which the techno-teen gladly returned.

"Now, how about you come up and play some video games? You can have my spot." Clark offered when they seperated.

"Who's playing?" Talida asked as the two began their walk back to the human area of the base.

"Me, Bee, Raf, and Krys were playing Borderlands." Clark answered. Talida shook her head.

"Do you guys have Need for Speed?" Talida asked asked.

"You like racing?" Clark asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Me and Bee play Need for Speed on Playstation 2 since it's the newest console where Need for Speed has splitscreen multiplayer. We could never get the internet to work on my PS2." Talida explained. Clark grinned.

"I have an idea." Clark disappeared in a blur, and a few seconds later, four Playstation 4's and four TV's were present in the human area as Talida ran up to join the others. "Me and my buddies used to do this with our Xbox's when we were younger. We'd all hook up to the internet and play online games." Clark explained as he tossed his controller to Talida. "You ever played The Crew?" Clark asked as he put the same game into the console.

"No. Is it good?" Talida asked as she took a seat on the couch next to Raf, opposite to Krystal.

"It's an open world racing game that let's you go around the entire U.S! It's awesome!" Krystal told the teen in excitement.

**"Sounds awesome!"** Bumblebee said with giddy anticipation.

"Let's try it." Talida said. The group didn't get to continue, however, as an alarm louder than the proximity sensor was going off. Krystal's hands shot up to her ears as she began to cry out.

"OW!"

"TURN THAT FUCKING THING _**OFF!**_" Amy's voice yelled. Bulkhead was quick to listen, silencing the alarm.

"Thank you!" Krystal thanked the wrecker in gratitude.

"No problem, gem." Bulkhead said with a smile before looking at the cause of the alarm. "It's an S.O.S. from Fowler." Bulkhead tapped a few commands into the panel.

"Did you trace it?" Talida asked.

"Location scan was incomplete." Bulkhead informed the group, turning his optics to look at them. "Oh well."

"Oh well?" Jack asked in disbelief. "Seriously?"

"Fowler's a jerk!" Bulkhead explained his point.

"A jerk who knows the location of this place!" Amy said with eyes wide in horror.

"And if the Decepticons have him, we may be screwed unless we save him." Clark pointed out.

"But-"

"Did we not just witness how fast he backed down from a bot? The Cons will totally make him squeal!" Miko interrupted the big mech.

**"We gotta help him, Bulkhead!"** Bumblebee beeped.

"But we lost the transmission! Fowler could be anywhere!" Bulkhead objected.

"It doesn't matter, Bulkhead! We're Autobots! We're Team Prime! We don't condone human casualties!" Talida retorted.

"Maybe we can hack into the government mainframe, we can figure out how to pinpoint his location." Clark said, catching everyone's attention.

"How?" Jack asked the man.

"The government started chipping their agents, like owners with pets." Clark explained. He spotted the weird looks he was getting from everyone but Raf. "I keep up with this shit for a reason."

"I can do it." Raf spoke up, pulling out his computer.

"But you're, like, 2 years old!" Miko said in disbelief.

"12. And a quarter." Raf corrected.

* * *

Upon the nemesis, Vehicons carried Fowler none too lightly to Starscream and Malita, nonchalantly dropping him in front of the commanders.

"Welcome, Agent Fowler." Starscream sneered, having no respect for what he saw as the inferior being upon at his feet.

"You treat all your guests this nice?" Fowler asked with a smirk.

"Any friends of the Autobots." Malita answered with a smirk of her own.

"Autobot? Them coin-operated 'Wash My Own Car' places?" Fowler replied, pretending to ignorant.

The couples' eyes widened, before they both scowled. "Oh, so that's how it's going to be. Apparently, no one told you that we have no appreciation for human humor. Make our guest comfortable." Starscream instructed, a malicious grin on the couples faces as they walked away, leaving Fowler to the Vehicons.

Fowler could only prey that the Autobots could find him, or he and the Autobots were screwed.

* * *

"Latitude: 39.5. Longitude: 116.9." Raf read aloud Fowler's coordinates.

"Got it!" Talida called out as she typed the coordinates into the groundbridge.

"Good job, Raf!" Clark cheered the preteen, patting the boy on the shoulder. The group watched the groundbridge swirl to life in a mass of green colors.

"I'll stay behind and man the groundbridge." Talida said as she walked Bulkhead and Clark get ready.

"Alright then. I can get Fowler out while Bulkhead handles the combat." Clark said as he looked at passed Amy and Krystal, kissing his girlfriend and hugging his daughter before walking down the steps.

"Shouldn't Bulkhead be able to find Fowler?" Jack asked in confusion. Talida nodded.

"He should be able to." The techno-teen confirmed.

"That may be true, but I can take off at Mach 10 without pushing myself. I could probably find Fowler faster while Bulkhead keeps them distracted. I could use my X-Ray vision to find him." Clark explained his reasoning.

**"Why am not I coming along?"** Bumblebee asked the two.

"Because I want a bot here if Optimus comes back. No offense, Tally." Clark said.

"None taken."

"Just don't get hurt." Amy pleaded to Clark, causing the man to chuckle.

"I'll be fine, Amy. You should worry more about Bulkhead." The man remarked.

"The rest of you stay with Talida and Amy. They're in charge." And with that, the two departed, and Talida close the groundbridge.

"Okay, so what do you all want to-" Amy stopped herself abruptly as she noticed someone missing. "Where's Miko?"

"Scrap!" Talida yelled, kicking the balcony and immediately regretting it.

* * *

As Bulkhead and Clark exited the groundbridge, Bulkhead was quick to call out.

"Fowler?!" He called out.

"Uh, Bulkhead?" Clark said, tapping the wrecker's foot to gain his attention. Clark simply pointed up. Bulkhead's optics followed the direction, and his eyes widened.

"Uh-oh. The whole Decepticon she-bang." Bulkhead said as he and Clark each took up hiding spots behind some rocks. "Do you think you can see if Fowler's in there from here?"

"Yeah, give me just a second." Clark nodded as he activated his X-Ray vision. The rock became transparent as Clark looked through it, attempting to look through the Nemesis so he could find where Fowler was being kept. But his eyes widened and he quietly exclaimed in anger. "Fuck!"

"What is it?" Bulkhead asked.

"The ship's lined with lead. I couldn't tell you where Fowler is." Clark explained his anger. Both eye and optic widened when a third voice spoke up.

"So we have to go on the ship?" Miko's voice caught their attention, and they both turned to look at the teen.

"Miko!" Bulkhead exclaimed in surprise, before motioning for her to be quiet. Unfortunately, his warnings came too late. A Vehicon stomped towards Miko, readying his energon blaster to fire. The moment Miko heard the whir of the blaster, she realized just how bad of a decision she had made.

"Oh. Unwise." Miko spoke quietly.

"MIKO! GET DOWN!" Bulkhead cried as Clark took off in a blur. As the blaster fired, Clark had crouched over Miko, using his own body as a shield for the blast as Bulkhead came running at surprising speeds, tackling the Vehicon to the ground.

"Goddammit, Miko! What the hell is wrong with you?!" Clark yelled, fear and anger pumping through him as turned and watched Bulkhead begin wailing on the Vehicon. This Vehicon was surprisingly resourceful, delivering a forceful scratch to Bulkhead's chest and causing the wrecker to stumble back.

"I wanted to see some robot action!" Miko said, looking at the fight in awe. Clark was anything but awed, however.

"If you get killed in the process, then what?" The man growled at the reckless teen, anger practically radiating off of him. "Did you think of that?!"

"No..." Miko said, unsure of how to respond as the drone attempted to hit Bulkhead with his blaster. Bulkhead raised his forearm to block the attack, delivering a powerful left hook to the the drone. The Vehicon used his momentum to swing his fist around, returning the hit, although he didn't have Bulkhead's sheer strength, so he only served to anger the wrecker. Bulkhead gritted his denta, and gave a strong uppercut to the Con. He immediately jumped on top of the Vehicon, pushing the drone to the ground.

Miko attempted to pick up a rock, but Clark jerked her back and glared at her. "Stay here. I mean it." He said, before dashing off in a blur at the Vehicon's head, taking the Vehicon's head off. Bulkhead looked surprised, before turning to look at Clark.

"I could've handled that."

"No doubt." Clark said seriously. "But the longer that was drawn out, the lower our chances of staying unnoticed."

Bulkhead nodded. "Got it."

* * *

"Arcee, do you read?"

"Loud and clear, Bulkhead." Arcee answered.

"I have a situation..." Bulkhead said in a singsong voice.

"Bulkhead, most of them are children, and you have Bumblebee and Talida with you." Arcee sighed in frustration, although most of that frustration was from Clark telling her off. She suddenly skidded to a stop, however, at Bulkhead's next words. "You're where? SHE's where?!"

* * *

"What should we do? Bulkhead may not even realize that she followed him!" Raf exclaimed in worry.

"Raf, trust me. He knows." Talida smiled in reassurance.

"Miko hasn't seen the Cons in action like we have. She has no idea." Jack said worriedly.

**"The coordinates are still locked in. I'm gonna get her back here."** Bumblebee bleeped in determination. He pulled the lever and activated the groundbridge.

"Be careful, Bee!" Raf said. If Bumblebee had a mouth, he would've been smirking.

"No problem, Raf."

"Please just get there and get back." Talida said. "We'd like you to be here when Dad get's back."

Bee nodded and gave a thumbs up. **"In and out. No problem."**

Amy couldn't understand Bumblebee, but she knew she wanted to occupy Krystal until everyone get's back. "He Krys, you want to play some-" She stopped herself when she realized Krystal had disappeared from her spot. "Krys?" She looked around for her daughter, before her eyes widened in horror when she spotted her only child running through the groundbridge. "KRYSTAL!" Her cry caught everyone's attention as she rushed down the stairs and towards the groundbridge, everyone following her. Everyone there knew not to seperate a mother from her child.

They were unfortunately too quick, or they would've picked up Arcee's call to base.

"Arcee to Base. Come in. Bee? Jack? Talida? Listen up. We need you to bridge us back. Hello?" When she got no response, she cursed. "Scrap!" Tires squealed against asphalt as Arcee took off back to base.

* * *

Krystal came running through groundbridge and looked around. "Miko?"

"KRYSTAL!" She turned in the direction of her fathers voice, finding Bulkhead holding Miko, and her father standing next to him.

"You there!" The voice of a Vehicon yelled out from the ship as everyone else came through the groundbridge.

"SCRAP/SHIT!"

**A/N: And that's that. Now, I wanna get something out of the way. Anyone expecting a word for word carbon copy of the Talida Prime stories with a few extra characters involved are in the wrong place. I'm going to go more towards the Jack/Talida pairing since I prefered that one, but Pricee fans can still come here if they want a Pricee story. But it's still a crossover, so there's a Superman story here too. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and I'll see you later.**


	4. Chapter 4: Darkness Rising Part 4

So, we've gotten to the GRAND Fowler rescue. Yeah, that was something. Poor Bastard went through hell, to keep the secret. Can't say getting him out was any easier though. With the others here, the job got a hell of a lot more difficult.

But it was bad enough when me and Bulk had to watch over Miko. But then everyone at base came running through another groundbridge. Including Amy and Krys. At first, it was just gonna be Bee coming through to get her, but Krys takes after me in more ways than one. She just wanted to do the right thing, like me and Amy teach her. She's bright, she's brave, but she was still just six years old. She didn't realize how dangerous the Decepticons were.

Granted, I could easily protect them, but I had no clue how to get into the base without destroying it, and a fly to the face at superspeed pretty much equals death, and the whiplash could also kill them, so they were stuck here until we could get Fowler and get out.

Tally would've been able to use that mobile groundbridge generator of hers... had she not left it behind in the rush.

As crap as the day was though, it wasn't all bad. Believe me. It was a lot better than I thought it would be.

* * *

Bumblebee and Bulkhead both transformed into their vehicle forms, Bulkhead taking off after towards the others while some of the humans loaded up into Bumblebee, leaving Clark to provide cover fire with his heat vision.

"Get in, NOW!" Bulkhead instructed as Clark's heat vision cut down two Vehicons, the rest having enough smarts to back away and duck. Raf, Talida and Jack all climbed into Bumblebee while Amy and Krystal climbed into Bulkhead.

"KRYSTAL MARTHA KENT!!! YOU KNOW BETTER THAN TO PULL A STUNT LIKE THAT!!" Amy raged, giving her daughter an angry glare.

"What are you all doing here?! Optimus is gonna kill me and Bee when he finds out Talida was here!" Bulkhead exclaimed, horrified at the thought of his commanders actions. His mood soured even further as another thought occured to him. "And that a six year old is here to boot, oh Primus help me."

"Bulkhead, it's not your fault. Only Bee was supposed to come through, and he was only going to get MIKO." Amy emphasized Miko's name, glaring at the teen with a look more fiery than Clark's heat vision. Miko shrunk under the woman's look. "But someone ran through the groundbridge before anyone noticed in time to stop her." She turned her angry gaze back on Krystal, who brought her knees to her chest and avoided her mom's gaze

"Sorry..." Krystal said in a whisper as both bots tires squealed to a stop.

"Everybody out! And this time, please wait here!" Bulkhead pleaded as everyone exited the bots, before the two drove off towards the Decepticon warship. Clark had stopped firing his heat vision, and approached the group with a displeased scowl.

"I don't care who, someone start talking." Clark growled, anger filling his features as he glared at everyone there.

"Ask your daughter that question. Krystal, come here!" Amy said firmly, Krystal slowly approaching her father, her gaze refusing to move from the ground.

"Krystal?" Clark said firmly, crouching to one knee. Krystal didn't say anything, too scared of her fathers response, but Clark was determined to get an answer, worry and anger overshadowing anything else. "Krystal." When her head still didn't budge, Clark narrowed his eyes. He reached his hand out, slipping his finger under Krystal's chin and forcing her to look at him. "I'm gonna be even more pissed if I have to ask your mom."

Raf stepped forward. "Um, Mr. Kent-" Amy stopped him. She looked at Raf, and then the others, and shook her head, silently telling them not to get involved.

Krystal finally broke, the floodgates bursting as she let the tears flow. "I wanted to help get Miko, so I ran through the groundbridge, and I didn't think to tell anybody!" She said, her voice hiccuping as she told her father what she had done.

Clark's eyes widened at her words for a split second. His mind ran at lightspeed. In hindsight, he and Amy do teach her to do the right thing, but both he and Bulkhead told her to stay back at the base with her mother, and she disobeyed and tried to run off anyways. Granted, she wasn't trying to be a thrill seeker, she just wanted to help. But still, putting herself in harms way was not something she should do, especially at her age. Clark was really unsure of what to do, and he'd rather wait until he and Amy had calmed down and everyone was safe before they decided what to do, so Clark sighed, bringing his index and middle finger to his forehead in irritation.

"It- you can't- uh- Goddammit Krystal. I know you wanted to help, but running into a battlefield is not THE WAY TO DO IT!!" Clark yelled, looking at Krystal, before sighing. "Look, you stay here with everyone while I go and help Bulkhead and Bumblebee find Fowler. We'll figure things out when we get home. In the meantime, do not leave your mom's sight, and for godsakes, do what she says, Okay?" Clark instructed. Krystal nodded, and turned away from her dad while Clark turned to look at Amy.

"I'm so-"

"It's not your fault, Amy. Don't think it is, alright? Just watch her while I go help Bulkhead and Bumblebee. Like I said, we'll figure things out when we get home." Clark said, hugging Amy, before looking at the others. "Will you guys-" He stopped himself short. Amy furrowed her brow when he stopped.

"What is it, Clark?" She asked, and she was answered with a frustrated sigh.

"Oh, I'm gonna kill Miko."

* * *

Two engines roared as Bulkhead and Bumblebee drove towards the warship. With no other way to get up to it, they drove in the direction of the cliff wall in front of the ship, using their momentum to transform and jump up, clinging to the cliff surface. Bulkhead climbed first, Bumblebee not far behind, before Bulkhead was able to jump to a pointed piece of the ship that jutted from the front. Bumblebee climbed a bit, and jumped as well, but fell short and would've hit the ground had Bulkhead not got him.

"You should've climbed a little higher, Bee." Bulkhead remarked as he lifted Bee so that the scout could grab onto the section. The two shimmied along the point until they got to a section they could climb. They found a Vehicon above them, but Bulkhead grabbed him and pulled him down. The two jumped on, and made quick work of the Vehicons up there, and turned in time to see Clark land a few yards away from them, having jumped up to the ship. The bots turned to look at where they left the other humans.

Jack, Raf, Amy, Krystal, and Talida were all watching the ordeal, but Bulkhead quickly noticed someone was missing.

"Where-"

"Check your chest compartment, Bulkhead." Clark said, to the bots' confusion. Not even a second later, however, a banging came from inside his chest compartment. His chest opened up and revealed Miko, who was taking huge gulps of air as she did.

"**Mi**ko?!" Both Bumblebee and Bulkhead exclaimed in surprise as the girl slowly recovered.

"I heaved on your floor mats. Sorry, Bulk." Miko apologized, before gagging once more as she tried to keep from redecorating Bulkhead's interior even further. Bulkhead lifted his hand to let the teen down. "Remind me NEVER to do that again."

"Miko!" Clark's voice caught the teens attention, and her eyes widened at the look of fury upon the man's face.

"Uh-oh."

"Uh-oh is right!" Clark said as he stomped up to the teens. "That was stupid and dangerous, Miko!"

"But it was fun." Miko huffed out as she caught her breath. Clark scowled.

"Listen here, I oughta-" Whatever Clark was gonna say was interrupted as a surprisingly quick Vehicon jumped onto Bulkhead, causing the wrecker to stumble as his vision was impared. Bumblebee deployed his blasters, but Clark was quick to act, rushing away from Miko, up Bulkhead, and onto the drone, punching a hole into it's head and tearing wires, all in less than a second. Dropping onto Bulkhead's shoulder, he allowed the wrecker to throw the now dead Vehicon off of him.

Bee's shooting caught their attention, as they saw him shooting at some Vehicons that had arrived on an elevator behind Miko. Bulkhead joined the scout, firing off blasts at the drones as more and more arrived. Clark looked around, and spotted a nearby sonar dish, although he didn't know that. He just cared that it was flat. Rushing over to it, he gripped it and ripped it off, throwing at with massive force and speed, not only taking out, but severing most of the Vehicons in half. But more were showed up, still shooting, so Bulkhead scooped up Miko and jumped into the ship, Bee and Clark following.

"Alright. You two look for a place for her to stay. I'll look around, see if I can find Fowler." Clark said.

** "Got it. Good luck, Clark."** Bee said, giving a thumbs up to the superpowered man.

"Try to avoid Milita, though." Bulkhead warned. Clark scoffed.

"I doubt it'd be enough, but the concern is appreciated. I'll try to avoid her then, man. Good luck." Clark said with a smile of his own, giving Miko a look before taking off. "Actually listen this time, Miko." and with that, Clark was gone in a blur.

Outside, everyone stared at the spot where they watched the four disappear.

"Think they forgot about us?" Raf asked, before a scream rang out, as Krystal spotted a Vehicon approaching the group.

"Get behind me." Talida instructed as she readied to fight off the Vehicon. Krystal hid behind her mothers leg while Jack and Raf stood behind Talida.

* * *

In the Nemesis, Clark zipped around the ship, hoping to find Fowler somewhere. His hearing and his X-Ray vision were both useless, because the whole ship was soundproofed, and lead lined. He could guess what the sound-proofing was for, and the mere thought of it anybody going through what Talida went through pissed him off beyond belief.

"Sorry, Bulk, but if I find Malita, I'm gonna beat the fuck out of her." Clark hissed to himself as he stopped running at superspeed. He luckily hadn't spotted any Decepticons, because a blur passing through the ship certainly would've been bad, now that he thought of it. He walked towards another door, and it opened automatically at the presence of anything. Walking through the door, he was surprised to find not another hallway, but what looked like a prison chamber. Fowler had to be here.

"Bingo." Clark smirked himself as he walked through the chamber.

Cell after cell was empty, and Clark started getting confused. "What's the point of having this place if you're not gonna lock anyone here?" Clark asked himself. He walked further down, but stopped at as the occupant of a particular cell caught his eye.

Rather than an Autobot, traitorous Decepticon, or even a human, Fowler, he would've hoped, he found a dog lying in the cell, asleep. The dog had snow colored fur, and it looked like a German Shepherd. It had to be the size of a Great Dane, or even bigger. The dog was massive. Clark whistled at it's size, but froze when he spotted something around it's neck

The dog wore a red collar, with piece of gold hanging from the collar. The symbol was that of a stylized S in a diamond. Reaching into his pocket, Clark pullet out a black elongated object. The object looked like an unfinished prism, growing more jagged towards the end. But on the opposite end was the same S symbol as on the dog's collar. The black object had arrived in the ship that had brought him to earth, and it was the only thing he had from his home world. Looking at the collar he realized something. This dog wasn't from Earth.

It was from the same place he was from.

Clark looked around for a control panel, but found it high above his reach. He could easily jump up there, but he wasn't about to try and figure out how to work it when he had a much simpler solution. "Screw it." Rearing back his hand, he busted the glass, that separated him from the dog inside the cell. The dog immediately perked up, as if it wasn't asleep at all, and stood to it's feet. When it's eyes landed on Clark, it approached him, head tilted in confusion. Clark crouched to one knee, and held out his hand.

"Easy boy."At least Clark hoped it was a boy, as the dog began sniffing his hand. After a few good sniffs, the dog immediately perked up, eyes wide and tail wagging in happiness. It let out a bark, before it jumped on Clark, licking his face with love, as if the dog recognized him from somewhere. "Ah, down boy!" Clark said with a laugh as the dog somehow was able to push him off his feet and down to the ground. Clark was able to get the dog off of him, laughing the whole time. He took a look at the dog's collar, which read in bold yellow words 'K R Y P T O'.

"Krypto? That's your name?" Clark asked, although he knew the dog couldn't answer him, he figured such was the case. His finger brushed the S symbol, and to Clark's suprise, it started glowing, before it reshaped, like something you would see in a movie. All the sudden, a golden man was speaking from the symbol, to Clark's surprise.

_ "If you are seeing this, then you have found my son's pet. His name is Krypto. I sent him to Earth to accompany Kal-El, as many Earthlings have a creature similar, known as a dog, to keep him company. Kal-El, if you are seeing this, please know that this dog is the only other gift your mother and I could leave you, aside from the command key. We love you with our entire beings, and we wish we could've come with you."_ And just like that, the man turned back into the S symbol. Clark was stumped. He had learned his name, and that the dog was supposed to be his. He had also learned that he was sent to Earth for a reason, but he still didn't know why.

"My name is Kal-El..." Clark said, nodding. "Huh. Name actually sounds neat." He looked at the dog, who was still looking at him with happiness. "Nice to meet you Krypto." He said, holding out his hand. Krypto laid his paw on Clark's hand, and the man laughed at the motion. "Neat."

The moment was ruined when a voice sounded out as the entrance to the chamber opened. "We only really keep one thing here, and the animal took out many of our troops. The only reason we were able to get it in a cell is becuase- what the- Hey!" Two Vehicons walked in, one explaining something to the other, before they both noticed Clark and Krypto. Clark stood up to act as they readied they're blasters, but neither he, nor the Vehicons got the chance to act, as Krypto took off in a blur, jumping onto one of the Vehicons and knocking it down while tearing into the drone's neck cables. Clark was too shocked to act or he would've stopped the second Vehicon from firing on the dog, but it didn't matter. Krypto had already killed the first Vehicon, and the second one had only signed it's death warrant as Krypto jumped onto it's face, tearing it to shreds.

Once it was done, it tore out a piece of metal and brought it to Clark, like a dog playing fetch. Clark himself was unsure of what to think, having just witnessed the dog from his home planet exhibit the same abilities he had, plus the show of mauling two Vehicon drones to death in less than five seconds.

"Wow." Clark finally said, before grinning and looking at Krypto. "Good looking out, boy." He said as he walked by Krypto, petting the dog and gesturing for him to follow. "Come on, boy." Clark said as he went back outside the chamber, Krypto following.

"Clark." He heard a familiar voice call out, turning to find Bulkhead approaching him, Miko still tucked protectively next to his chest, his other hand in gun mode. "You alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Found a new friend." Clark said, gesturing to Krypto.

"A dog?" Miko asked in surprise. "What would the Cons want with a dog?" Clark chuckled.

"The dog is from my home planet, wherever that is. And don't underestimate him. I think he has my powers." Clark explained.

"Really?" Bulkhead asked in surprise.

"He just took two Vehicons apart in less than five seconds, and Energon blasts don't do a thing to him."

"How do you know he's from your world?" Miko asked, brow furrowed in confusion.

"The symbol on his collar is the same as the one on the command key that was in my ship." Clark explained, pulling out said command key to show Bulkhead and Miko. Miko couldn't see it too well, but Bulkhead's enhanced sight let him see it easily. "You still ain't found a place for her to stay, yet?"

Bulkhead shook his head as Clark put the key back in his pocket. "No. It's hard to find a room where she'll be safe."

"This is why you should've stayed at base, Miko." Clark admonished.

"Yeah, yeah."

* * *

"Bring them to the brig. Commander Starscream is keeping the human there."

"YOU LET GO OF MY DAUGHTER YOU OVERSIZED PILE OF SCRAP METAL!" Amy yelled, anger completely overiding any other emotion as she and Krystal were carried away to the brig, while another one held Jack and Raf, and a third one held Talida with both hands, keeping her arms pinned to her sides. They knew of her combat skill, and they took no chances.

"Keep those two quiet!" The one leading them said, gesturing to Krystal's sobs of terror and Amy's cries of outrage. They had no chance to do anything, however, when Bumblebee came driving into them, knocking the Vehicons down and sending their captives airborne. Arcee jumped over Bumblebee and transformed, catching Jack and Raf, and Talida, who landed on top of Jack. Bumblebee transformed as well, reaching out and catching Amy and Krystal.

**"Are you okay?"** Bumblebee asked.

"Yeah, we're okay." Krystal said with a nod, breathing heavily, trying to shake off the terror from earlier.

"Thank you, Bumblebee." Amy said as Bee sat the two down, Krystal running into her mother's arms. Amy picked up her daughter as Arcee sat down the other three.

"Appreciate you opening the front door for us, but storming the Decepticon warship was NOT on the activites list." Arcee reprimanded them. "And Talida, can you imagine what Optimus will do when he finds out you're here? He'll turn us all into scrap metal."

"He won't turn you into scrap metal, Arcee. I wouldn't let him." Talida swore. "Besides, Dad has a thing for you."

Arcee ran down the corridors with her blaster charging up. When she reached the end of the hall, she put her back against it, before whipping around the corner. She was too late, however, as a vehicon drone caught her blasters in on hand, leaving his other to take it's blaster form. He aimed it right at Arcee's head, and she hear Bulkhead's voice call out her name. She was saved by something else, however, as a white blur smacked into the drone and began to rip it apart. The drone was dead in no time, and Krystal shouted in joy at their savior.

"Doggy!"

Krystal's voice caught the white dog's attention, and it turned to look in the their direction. The moment it spotted Arcee and Bumblebee, It growled, and it's eyes began to glow red.

"Krypto!"

Clark's voice sounded out roughly through the hallway, and the dog turned towards the man, who was coming from the same direction that Bulkhead head. "They're friend. Not foe." Krypto whimpered, sitting on his hind legs, before his eyes widened in shock as he felt a pair of arms wrap themselves around his neck, accompanied by the giggles of a small child.

"Can we keep him?" Krystal asked as she let go of Krypto, the dog turning to look at the little girl in confusion as she looked to her father. Clark laughed at the cute face his daughter was making, before turning to look at Amy, who was still gaping at the dog.

"Let me show you two something." Clark said as he walked over next to Amy, before whistling. "Krypto, here boy." He said, pointing to the ground in front of him. The dog rushed over, panting in excitement. "Sit." Krypto promptly plopped his butt on the ground.

"Clark, what are you-" Amy, having snapped out of her shock, was looking at he boyfriend in confusion as Krystal made her way next to her parents. The woman was silenced when Clark dropped down to one knee and grabbed the golden symbol, which she recognized due to Clark having shown her the command key before. "Is he-?"

"Yeah." Clark confirmed her question before she even asked it. Before the conversation could carry on, they were interrupted by Arcee talking to Bulkhead.

"So, you brought the humans and Talida, huh?" Arcee asked with a glare as the bots put away their blasters.

"You try getting them to stay behind!" Bulkhead retorted.

"Look, what's done is done. We need to find Fowler and haul ass out of here." Clark said, his main concern being his family's safety.

"Uh, he's in the brig!" Jack, Talida, and Raf all spoke together. Amy was too busy watching her daughter like a hawk, and Krystal was having too much fun with Krypto.

* * *

Fowler felt terrible. There was no lying his way through that. Now he wished he never doubted Talida two years ago. Malita was not someone to take lightly.

"My dear Agent Fowler, you do realize the Autobots have abandoned you." Starscream said with a chuckle as he attempted to break the man's spirit. "We are the only ones you can rely upon, now."

"So, tell us what we want to know, or else..." Malita trailed off as she activated the Energon prod, ready to shock the agent again.

"Wait. No more." Fowler knew what he was about to do, but he couldn't take anymore of this. Not when the Autobots didn't know where he was. "They're in a secret government base."

"Go on." The couple pressed him. However, anything he was gonna say was interupted by gunfire outside the brig door. Fowler felt guilt wash over him as he realized that the Autobots did, in fact, know where he was. Not only that, but they were attempting to rescue him. Fowler would do the same for any one of them, no matter how mean he may seem. Well, if they were trying to save him, then he could take some more of this until they get there.

No matter how much it sucked.

"Come on, Fowler!" Malita pressed urgently.

"In the old still mill? Or was it under the carnival house?" Fowler joked out of spite, knowing what was coming. He was proved right when the couple growled in furstration, before Malita jammed the Energon Prod into him again, and through the pain, Fowler didn't miss the look of pure, sadistic satisfaction on the techno-organic's face. Starscream simply watched proudly as his lover lived up to Megatron's name. It never got old to Malita to hear screams of pain, and she loved her job as the Decepticon torturer. Her favorite victim she had ever had would always be Talida Prime.

"Someone find out what is going on out there!" Starscream shouted as Malita continued her work.

* * *

The firefight outside was ongoing. Bulkhead used his body as a shield to protect Jack, Talida, Miko, Raf, Amy, and Krystal. Amy was carrying her daughter, who kept her head burried in her mother's neck, crying and praying the everything would end. Amy just held Krystal tight in an effort to comfort her. Krypto was right there, playing guard dog in case any Decepticon got past Bulkhead. Bumblebee and Arcee were trying to cover the other side, taking down Vehicons that got close. Clark was running back and forth, taking out stragglers. Any time the humans would attempt to get away, a new Vehicon would pop up and open fire. It was horrifying, and suffocating, the amount of power these beings possessed. It felt as if the space they had was growing smaller and smaller. Krypto took off to deal with another Vehicon, unknowingly allowing another that had gotten past Bulkhead to stomp up to the humans. Everyone stared in horror as the drone began charging up his blaster, before jumping in shock as the head of another Vehicon ripped through their attacker's chest. They all felt relief flood through them when Arcee finished off the final Vehicon. They were all hoping that they wouldn't have to deal with any more hordes of Vehicons.

* * *

"I'll be back, lover. The Energon Prod is getting boring, and we aren't getting much out of him." Malita said to Starscream, who laughed.

"Going to get something more useful, my dear?" Starscream asked. Malita sneered.

"Something more fun." She laughed sadisticly. Before the door panels shut behind her. Starscream chuckled darkly.

"I hope you are more cooperative when she returns, Agent Fowler, otherwise, you may not live through the pain."

* * *

The group had made it to one of the computer rooms, and it was at the point that the Autobots decided to clear out a room for everyone to stay in. Arcee, Bulkhead, and Bumblebee made quick work of the bots inside while Clark and Krypto stood guard. The humans waited for the all clear hoping and preying against all possibility that they would not get caught in another battle.

"All clear." Arcee proclaimed. All of the humans rushed inside immediately, relieved that the worst of it was over.

For now.

"Wait here." Arcee instructed.

**"Um, are you sure that's a good idea?"** Bumblebee asked, not too keen on the idea of making them stay.

"Me and Krypto can guard while you guys get Fowler." Clark said. Arcee nodded, and the three Autobots ran out of the room, with the doors shutting. Everyone sighed in relief.

"Mommy, can I play with Krypto?" Krystal asked. Amy looked at the dog, and then looked at Clark who shrugged his shoulders, mouthing 'I guess'. Amy sighed, before letting Krystal down.

"Be careful, okay sweetheart?" Amy instructed. Krystal nodded, before running off to play with Krypto.

"That was intense." Miko remarked. Everyone balked at the girl.

"Was?" Raf repeated in disbelief.

"It's your fault that we're stuck in this intensity! What were you thinking Miko?!" Jack demanded

"Did I ask you to follow me?" Miko retorted.

"THAT'S YOUR DEFENSE?!" Clark yelled, silencing anything else. After what they witnessed in the earlier battle, nobody was in a hurry to anger him anymore than he already was.

"Daddy, are you-"

"Keep playing with Krypto, Krys." Clark silenced his daughter without looking at her.

"Clark..." Amy went to step in front of her boyfriend, but Clark went right around her, stomping straight up to Miko.

"Thanks to you, my daughter felt the need to rush through a groundbridge, into a battlezone, to help your sorry ass!" Clark yelled. "Now, we have five normal humans here, plus Tally, who I seriously doubt was in a hurry to return here, and we are all inside a room, within a ship, that is infested with HOSTILE _ALIEN_ **_ROBOTS!!!_**" Miko shrunk at his words, taking a step back with every step Clark took forward, until he had backed her against a wall. **_"NOW YOU TELL ME WHAT PART OF THIS IS SUPPOSED TO FUN!!!"_**

"CLARK!" Amy yelled, finally catching her boyfriend's attention. Clark jerked his head in her direction, panting out of anger. "Please calm down." Clark was about to fire off an angry remark, but when he saw the fearful gaze of his daughter behind her, he felt his anger fade. He slowly dragged his gaze across the other three. Talida, Raf, and Jack were all looking at him with varying degrees of fear, almost afraid he'd lash out at one of them. He felt guilt begin eating at him. He'd always had a problem with his temper. He could think things through, but his anger built up quick, and was massively explosive when he finally went off. He let out a sigh as Amy laid her hand on his shoulder, catching his attention once more. Unlike the others, her gaze was full of concern.

Shaking his head, he sat down on a nearby step, allowing his feet to hang off the side.

"I'm sorry for spooking all of you. But when I woke up this morning, a siege on an alien warship was not on my to-do list." Clark said with a chuckle, attempting to lighten the mood. "I just want them to find Fowler, so we can get the hell out of here."

"Mr. Kent-" Talida went to speak up, but Clark interupted her.

"Enough with the Mr. Kent shit. My name is Clark. I've known two of you since you were in diapers, and considering the secrets we all share, I think we're well past formalities. Let's just stick to first names and nicknames, okay?" Clark instructed the teens, not even turning around. After a few seconds, Talida spoke up again.

"Clark..." Talida said slowly, not used to adressing the closest thing she's had to a human father so bluntly. Clark lightly turned his head in her direction. "I'm sorry you got caught up in this."

"Talida, it's not your fault, okay? It's just-" Clark stopped himself as he happen to glance up at one of the screens, the display catching his attention. He had a feeling that it was important. "What do you and Raf make of that?" He asked as he stood to his feet.

"It looks important. Really important." Raf observed as Talida wore a look of realization.

"Primus!" Talida gasped. "I think I know what they are."

"That picture looks vaguely like a groundbridge." Amy remarked.

"You're not far off. I'll need to get the to Rachet to be certain, but I think they're specs for a Space Bridge."

"Let me guess, it's a groundbridge without planet restrictions." Clark guessed, causing Talida's eyes to widen.

"How did you-"

"GroundBridge, Space Bridge..." Clark remarked. "Not that hard to figure out when you think about it. The real question is why would the Cons need it?"

"I don't know, but with the Decepticons, it can't be good." Talida Proclaimed.

* * *

"Wake up, you pathetic lump of flesh!" Starscream yelled at the delirious for of Agent Fowler. He had continued the interrogation with the Energon Prod while waiting for Malita.

Fowler weakly lifted his head to look at Starscream, and the seeker almost expected an answer. What he got, though, was far from it.

"Grandma? Is it cookie time?" Fowler asked, disoriented from the torture. Two loud knocks had Starscream angrily glare at the door.

"Who is it?" At his words, the doors opened, with a Vehicon on the other side. "Well?"

He was answered with the death of the Vehicon inside the room, as the one at the door was just Bulkhead holding up a body. Both Bulkhead and Bumblebee jumped into the room with thier blasters ready. They had finally found Fowler. Now they just had to get him out of here in one piece.

"Not so fast." Starscream sneered, a smirk on his face as he aimed his own blaster at Fowler. He felt something tap on his head, before lookig up. He spotted Arcee balancing in the light shaft above him, her own blaster aimed at his head.

"I wouldn't." Arcee threatened.

"Oh but I might." Starscream grinned.

* * *

"We gotta get this to Oprimus." Raf said.

"Miko, come here. Make yourself useful, take a picture." Clark instructed, and the teen was in no hurry to argue or disobey with the power house.

"Shouldn't we download it?" Raf asked, yanking out a flash drive as Miko took the picture.

"I doubt there's a place for your flash drive, Raf." Amy said with a small smile. They were interupted by a commotion by the entrance, and everyone turned to see what was going on.

"What have you done?!" Malita spat at Krystal, ignoring Krypto's aggressive growles.

"Malita!" Talida yelled attempting to take her foe's attention off of the child. Malita turned her attention in their direction with a look of anger upon hearing her nemesis' voice, before gasping when she spotted Clark.

"You!"

"So you remember me?" Clark asked, cracking his knuckles as Talida got ready for combat. Malita snarled, but she found no time to do anything but feel whiplash as she found herself pushed against a now cracked wall, Clark's large hands wrapped around her wrists and hands, forcing them against the wall. "Give me one good reason not to kill you right now!" Clark growled, his eyes glowing red in rage. Malita could only look in disbelief as this man revealed that he not only had immense strength and heat vision, but speed equivilent to the effects of Red Energon.

"W-What are you?" Malita asked in utter terror, all earlier bravado and anger gone as she stared into the red abyss that was Clark Kent's heat vision, not helped by the vice grip on her hands that felt like someone trapped them in cement.

* * *

"Now, Agent Fowler and I will take our leave." Starscream proclaimed.

"The emu says eyeeaaahhhhh!" Fowler said, a drunken-like smile on his face. Causing Starscream to look at him in confusion.

That distraction was all that was needed, before all three Autobots began firing, causing the seeker to prance around to avoid the shots, before he transformed into his Jet mode, making sure to hit Arcee with the afterburner before taking off down the hall.

* * *

With a roar of anger, Clark let go of one of her hands with the aim of driving his fist through Malita's head. Malita was quick to move out of the way, drawing her own energon blaster and firing it in Clark's face, causing the man to lose his grip and stumble back. Malita attempted to escape the room, her goal being to alert the rest of the ship to intruders. She was stopped, however, when Talida tackled her, attempting to wrestle the blaster out of her grip.

Once Clark recovered, he looked at the others. "Out the door, now!"

Amy balked. "Clark, are you-"

"We're getting out of here!" Clark said as he ran by the wrestling group, yanking both Talida and the gun away from Malita, crushing the gun in his grip and directing Talida towards the door. Talida joined with the rest of the group, all of them going to the door. Clark looked at Malita, who looked back at him with a nervous gaze. Clark growled, and delivered one swift, powerful punch onto her hand.

Too powerful.

Ignoring her screams, Clark ran to catch up with the others, getting out door just as the Autobots showed up. Jack and Talida climbed onto Arcee, Raf and Miko climbed into Bumblebee, and Amy and Krystal climbed into Bulkhead.

"I thought I told you to stay put!" Arcee said in frustration.

"Tell that to Malita!" Talida remarked as they began driving away, Clark and Krypto keeping the path clear. Miko jumped as Fowler popped up from Bumblebee's backseat.

"I like pie. Can we stop for pie?" A delirious Fowler asked, before passing out on Bumblebee's console.

"You found Fowler! Rock on!" Miko cheered as Fowler passed out once again.

* * *

Back at the Autobot base, everyone was slumped, the only audible sound being the welder Optimus was using on Ratchet's cast. Talida was working on the burn injury Arcee had sustained from Starscream. Clark sitting down on the couch in the human area, head propped back as he stared up at the ceiling. His arm was wrapped around Amy, who was leaning into him, her had resting on his neck, the two watching Krystal play with Krypto. Jack, Miko and Raf were watching over an unconcious Agent Fowler, before Miko got curious.

"What happened to you guys, anyway?" Miko asked worriedly.

"We enganged an army of undead Cybertronian warriors." Ratchet answered.

"Zombies? YOU FOUGHT ZOMBIES AND I MISSED IT?!" Miko pouted. Clark felt no compulsion to yell at her this time. It was clear that Miko was a thrillseeker. It didn't make Clark happy that she'd put herself in danger, but still it was just her. The only reason Clark was as mad as he was earlier is because Krystal had followed her. Clark and Amy had both decided not to punish her, considering the experience itself was horrifying enough. Upon being asked about Krypto, clark had promptly replied. 'He's a dog from my homeworld. How the Decepticons got him, I don't know, but they don't have him now.'

"Be thankful you did." Talida remarked in response to Miko's complaint as she wrapped a special metal bandage around Arcee's shoulder to protect the burn. Do anything to make your injury worse then it already is, I will NOT pretect you from my dad's wrath. You know how overprotective he gets."

"My strength may be down, but I can still hear as well as before!" Optimus shouted.

"I know. But it's still true. You are overprotective, Dad." Talida retorted with an affectionate smile as she kissed his cheek.

"That's a trait you should always appreciate, Talida. No matter how much it gets on your nerves." Clark remarked without even looking.

"How so?" Talida asked in confusion. Clark chuckled at her question, but did not answer. He did sit up when he heard Optimus begin speaking to Bulkhead.

"Bulkhead, you excercised extremely poor judgement in allowing the humans and my daughter to accompany you." Optimus berated the wrecker.

"It won't happen again, Optimus. I promise." Bulkhead swore. Clark sighed.

"Excuse me Amy." Clark asked. Amy sat up, allowing him to stand up. "Prime, don't go jumping his ass. Miko's the one who snuck along." Clark defended his big green friend.

"We found something interesting as well!" Talida remarked as she gestured to Miko, while Clark began walking down the steps.

"Check it out! Recon!" Miko cheered, although slightly weary as Clark came to a stop next to her. She showed Optimus the photo she took of the computer.

"Ratchet, take a look. It could be of importance to Megatron." Optimus pointed out.

"Wait, Megatron is back? That's just great." Clark said in frustration. Everything just kept getting worse and worse. Ratchet went to look at the picture, before furrowing his optics narrowed in confusion.

"I don't understand." Ratchet confessed. Confused, Miko looked at the photo, and had to keep herself from laughing as she saw her picture of the Vehicon Krypto had killed. "My bad. That's the 'Con that tried to blow Arcee away. At least, that's what he looked like before Krypto turned him into a chewtoy!" Miko cheered, doing dome air punches.

"Miko, Raf was almost killed!" Jack finally snapped. "This isn't a game! When are you going to get that through your thick skull?!"

"Uh... we were all almost killed, Jack! You, me, Raf, Talida, even them!" Miko retorted, refusing to back down from Jack's anger.

"Well, if this is an average day with the Autobots, then I don't want to be a part of it. Not anymore." Jack announced.

"I'm with you there, kid." Clark said in agreement, resting his hand on Jack's shoulder as Amy walked down the steps carrying Krystal, Krypto following behind. Talida's heart shattered at Jack's words.

"What?!" Talida asked in shock. "Jack, just chill out for a minute, think this through, please." Talida begged him.

"I have Talida. Our lives are in danger now! Maybe you can live with this, but I can't! I'm not like you!" As Jack drilled the point home, Clark saw the look of a broken heart in her eyes. He took it upon himself to interrupt Jack before his rant went to far.

"Jack, that's enough." He said, but Jack wasn't finished.

"I can't just run around knowing that there's a chance a Decepticon will jump out of nowhere and kill me! I can't survive going through what you've been through! I just can't do this with you!" Jack finished.

_'F__uck'_Clark thought as he saw the look in Talida's eyes.

"You think I wanted this? You have a choice, Jack! That's something that I want. Like you, I was dragged into this, but in a different way! I was dragged into it by being born! You took a ride on a talking motorcycle! I got dragged into it by being born to a Prime! Do I want this life? No! I don't! I can't just walk away from this war! There are times I wish my mum was alive! There are times where I wish I wasn't the daughter of Optimus Prime! But you can't fight fate, Jack! I just want to be able to have a choice! Just a stinking choice! Is that too much to ask?!" Talida aksed with tears streaming down her face, shocking everybody in the room. Particularly Jack, Miko, Raf, and Optimus to the core.

"Damn..." Clark said, unsure of what to say. Jack felt like the biggest asshole ever.

"Talida, I had no idea." Jack whispered as he went to wipe her tears away.

"I need a moment. I'll see you guys at school." Talida mumbled as she used her PGO to be alone.

"Jack, Mr. Kent, putting you in harms way was never our intent. However, it is no longer the safety of you five that is at risk, but the safety of all humankind. We will respect your decision if you wish to leave." Optimus reassured him.

"No point in long goodbyes. Here's the door." Ratchet said as he opened the groundbridge.

"Tell Talida that I hope she's okay and that I'll see her at school tomorrow, okay?" Jack asked Miko nicely. "Come on, Raf."

"Aww." Bumblebee whimpered.

"I'll be okay, Jack. See you at school." Raf promised after glancing at the downtrodden scout.

"You two ready?" Clark asked his family. Amy nodded.

"Yeah." She said.

"Daddy, is Talida going to be okay?" Krystal asked, lookin at the spot where Talida disappeared.

"Yeah. She's just hurting." Clark assured. "Let's go."

* * *

"Please, Lord Megatron! I meant no-!" Starscream was cut off by his own screams as Megatron slapped him around.

"I ordered you to await my command!" Megatron reminded as he backhanded the seeker. Instead, your mindless agenda resulted in the disabling of my ship, the delay of my plans, and my daughter now can't use one of her hands!"

"My intentions were pure, master! I only wanted you to be rid of Optimus!" Starscream defended before Megatron stomped on Starscream, his massive foot covering the entire seeker's upper half.

"No one rids me of Optimus Prime but me! Do you understand? Do you?" Megatron snapped.

"Lord Megatron, I will make things right. I swear! I know how to set your plans back on course!" Starscream announced, causing Megatron to take his foot off of him and pick him up by his neck.

"Explain Starscream. Quickly." Megatron advised as he glared at the seeker.

* * *

"Krystal's in bed, and Krypto isn't going to leave her side, it seems." Amy said as she walked back into the living room, where Clark had his face buried into his hands.

"She asked about the Autobots, didn't she?" Clark asked. Amy nodded as she sat down next to him.

"I know you don't want Krystal involved in their war, but did we really have to leave?" Amy asked him.

"Probably not, but I figured that was only way to be sure." Clark responded.

"Clark, I love you. I know when something is bothering you." Amy said, laying her hand on Clark's shoulder.

"I've been thinking about what Optimus said." Clark admitted.

"About the risk to humanity?"

Clark nodded. "Yeah. Normally I'd just leave it to them, maybe help out if I need to, but ever since I found Krypto..." Amy furrowed her brow in confusion.

"What about Krypto?" Amy looked at Clark, wondering what had happened with dog. Clark sighed.

"Krypto." Clark called out. He didn't need to raise his voice since the dog definitely had his hearing, and if Krypto were like Earth dogs, then he had a better sense of hearing and smell than Clark did. The dog came into the living room, and sat down in front of the couple. Clark looked at Amy. "Watch this."

"Clark, what are you-" Anything she was going to say was silenced when Clark brushed his thumb across the S symbol, and she watched the message Clark saw earlier play out. The even after it was over, the woman still stared in shock, before looking at Clark.

"Was that who I think it was?" She asked Clark, who nodded.

"My father. My birth father."

"So Krypto was supposed to be your dog?" Amy asked.

"I guess so." Clark confirmed.

"And your birth name is Kal-El."

Clark nodded. "That message has made me question the reason I was sent here." Amy's eyes widen, before they softened. She placed her hand on Clark's cheek, and gently turned his gaze towards her.

"What ever reason you were sent here, whatever your birth name is, you will always be Clark Joseph Kent, the man who grew up on a farm in Kansas, who always tries to do the right thing, who loves his family and friends with all of his being, who tries to live a normal life despite the unmatched power he has," As she said this, she pressed her forehead into Clark's, both off them closing their eyes at the contact. "The man who I want to spend my life with." Clark opened his eyes and looked at Amy, who looked back at him with that gentle smile he fell in love with, eyes holding honesty towards every word she had just spoken. "It doesn't matter why they sent you. All that matters is what you think." Clark was stunned into silence at her words.

"How did I get so lucky that I got someone like you in my life?" Amy giggled at Clark's words.

"You're a good man, Clark, whether you or anyone else admit it." Amy said to him as she leaned up and kissed him. Clark found himself entranced by the woman he loved, staring at her when they broke apart. Amy herself couldn't break her gaze away from her boyfriend's piercing blue eyes. They locked lips once more as Amy climbed onto Clark's lap. They were both happy that Krystal was a heavy sleeper when she was tired, as they ended up in bed that night with no clothes on, glowing smiles on their faces as they fell asleep.

* * *

Jack sighed as Bulkhead pulled away, Miko inside. Miko had tried to convince him to come back to base, but quite frankly, if anyone were going to convince him, Miko certainly wouldn't be the one to do it. He had overheard the Kents discussing their decision, and had slowly thought it over himself, slowly coming to the conclusion that he didn't want to be involved. But one thing in the back of his mind kept irking him: would Talida be okay?

After her confession, Jack was a little unsure of his choice. He didn't want to be involved with the Autobots if today's events were a daily thing. But he didn't want to hurt Talida. That was what bothered him. He liked Talida, more than what he thought. More than just friendship. And if she went through the hell of today all the time, well, then Jack was wondering if he should power through it. For Talida.

He was dragged from his thoughts when he was blinded by a bright light. He gasped when he turned and spotted Talida stepping out of a groundbridge. Her cheeks were tearstained, her eyes puffy and red from crying, and her hair was pulled up into a messy ponytail. All signs that she is emotionally distraught. Immediately, Jack dropped his stuff and pulled her into his arms.

"Are you okay?" Jack asked, voice full of worry.

"I'm fine. I just need to be with you right now." Talida whispered.

"Come on. Let's just splash some cold water on your face. Then you can have a shower and we'll get some sleep, okay?" Jack suggested gently, not wanting to be to harsh or rude, considering her rather fragile state.

Talida nodded weakily in response. She knew not to argue with Jack. Not when he was worried about her. He genty took her heand and led her into the house, deciding he'd finish his bike early in the morning.

When Talida finished her shower, she looked better than she did whe she arrived. The fact that she had been crying was still obvious, but it wasn't as noticable now. Jack was going to leave the room, but Talida stopped him, begging him not to leave. WIth a sigh, he nodded in understanding, before facing away from his crush, covering his eyes. When she gave the okay, Jack turned around, finding her in a pair of tracksuit pants and an oversized shirt. Her ponytail was still up, and she wore absolutely no makeup.

The two lied on his bed, Jack staring up at the ceiling as Talida curled up against his side. They usually did this when one of them were emotionally distraught, but Talida felt something else inside her. Jack's eyes widened as she uncurled and snuggled up to his side, laying his arm on his chest. And Jack heard her mutter something.

"Please come back."

It was said so quietly that Jack was unsure if he was even supposed to hear it, but he did. He found his mind wandering, and he absently began stroking her arm and pulled her closer, with no intention of letting go. He couldn't help but wonder if his decision to leave the Autobots was right, but more importantly...

...did Talida really need him there that much?

* * *

"It can't be!" Ratchet exlaimed in shock as he examined the equations that were acquired earlier. "Optimus! Talida was right! These are the engineering specs for a Space Time Vortex Generator!"

"Megatron is building a Space Bridge." Optimus realized gravely as he approched. "If he hasn't already."

"The sooner he leaves, the better!" Bulkhead remarked as he and Bumblebee approached them.

Optimus shook his head. "Bulkhead, a Space Bridge runs it two directions. Megatron may not be using it to leave Earth, but to bring through his conqouring army." Optimus proclaimed with a more grave tone.

"The main event Megatron referred to." Ratchet remarked. "But the only place Megatron could possibly recruit that many fallen soldiers is..." The medic trailed off as the warlord's plan finally dawned on him.

"Precisely..." Optimus confirmed as all heads looked skyward.

"Cybertron."

**A/N: And that's that. Things will be changed a small bit from the Talida Prime universe, and by the end of the story, a few major differences should be in place, such as the Jack/Talida pairing. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, because the next chapter will be the end of the Darkness Rising Saga. Also, I'm not against writing lemons, but if I had wrote one for Clark and Amy, I feel like that would've taken away from what I was trying to accomplish. I might bump the rating up in later chapters due to possible lemons, but I make no promises.**


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